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THE    ADVENTURES 
OF    BFLLT    TOPSAIL 


The  "Billy  Topsail"  Books 
By  NORMAN  DUNCAN 

Each  Illustrated,  I2mo,  cloth, 


The  Adventures  of  Billy  Topsail 

"  There  was  no  need  to  invent  conditions  or  im- 
agine situations.  The  life  of  any  lad  of  Billy  Top- 
sail's years  up  there  is  sufficiently  romantic.  It 
is  this  skill  in  the  portrayal  of  actual  conditions 
that  lie  ready  to  the  hand  of  the  intelligent  ob- 
server that  makes  Mr.  Duncan's  Newfoundland 
stories  so  noteworthy." — Brooklyn  EagU. 

Billy  Topsail  and  Company 

"  Another  rousing  volume  of  « The  Billy  Topsail 
Books.'  Norman  Duncan  has  the  real  key  to  the 
boy  heart  and  in  Labrador  he  has  opened  up  a 
field  magnetic  in  its  perils  and  thrills  and  endless 
excitements." — Examiner. 

Billy  Topsail,  M.  D. 

A  Tale  of  Adventure  with  «  Doctor  Luke  of  the 
Labrador." 

The  further  adventures  of  Billy  Topsail  and 
Archie  Armstrong  on  the  ice,  in  the  forest  and  at 
sea.  In  a  singular  manner  the  boys  fall  in  with 
a  doctor  of  the  outposts  and  are  moved  to  join 
forces  with  him.  The  doctor  is  Doctor  Luke  of 
the  Labrador  whose  prototype  as  every  one  knows 
is  Doctor  Grenfell.  Its  pages  are  as  crowded  with 
brisk  adventures  as  those  of  the  preceding  books. 


HIS    CLOTHES    WERE    FROZEN     STIFF,    AND    HE     HAD    TO 
BEAT   THEM   ON    THE   ICE  TO   SOFTEN   THEM. 


THE  ADVENTURES 
OF  BILLT  TOPSAIL 


By 
NORMAN  DUNCAN 

Author  of"  Doctor  Luke  of  The  Labrador? 
«  The  Mother,"  "  Dr.  GrenfiWi  Parish" 


ILLUSTRATED 


New    York         Chicago         Ttrtntt 

FLEMING  H.  RESELL  COMPACT 

Land  on     and     Edinburgh 


Copyright,  1906,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


Printed  in  the  United  State*  of  A  mfrica 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  17  North  Wabash  Ave. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:  75  Princes  Street 


S 

A  38 
\?0^ 
eouc. 


.  K. 


4876--'- 


To  the  editors  of  the  "  Youth's  Companion  " 
the  authors  thanks  are  due  for  the  permission 
to  reprint  much  of  the  contents  of  this  book. 


To  the  Boy  who  Reads  the  Book 

YOU  must  not  be  surprised  because  the 
adventures  of  Billy  Topsail  and  a  few  of 
his  friends  fill  this  book.  If  all  the  ad- 
ventures of  these  real  boys  were  written  the  rec- 
ord would  fill  many  books.  This  is  not  hard  to 
explain.  The  British  Colony  of  Newfoundland 
lies  to  the  north  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and 
to  the  east  of  the  Canadian  Labrador.  It  is  so 
situated  that  the  inhabitants  may  not  escape  ad- 
ventures. On  the  map,  it  looks  bleak  and  far 
away  and  inhospitable — a  lonely  island,  outlying 
in  the  stormy  water  of  the  Atlantic.  Indeed,  it 
is  all  that  The  interior  is  a  vast  wilderness — a 
waste  place.  The  folk  are  fishermen  all.  They 
live  on  the  coast,  in  little  harbours,  remote, 
widely  scattered,  not  connected  by  roads ;  com- 
munication is  only  by  way  of  the  sea.  They  are 
hospitable,  fearless,  tender,  simple,  willing  for 
toil ;  and,  surely,  little  else  can  be  said  of  a  peo- 
ple. Long,  long  ago,  their  forbears  first  strayed 
up  that  forbidding  shore  in  chase  of  the  fish  ;  and 

5 


6  TO  THE  BOY  WHO  READS  THE  BOOK 

the  succeeding  generations,  though  such  men  as 
we  are,  have  there  lived  their  lives,  apart  from 
the  world's  comforts  and  delights  as  we  know 
them.  The  land  is  barren ;  sustenance  is  from 
the  sea,  which  is  moody  and  cold  and  gray :  thus 
life  in  that  far  place  has  many  perils  and  depriva- 
tions and  toilsome  duties.  The  boys  of  the  out- 
ports  are  like  English-speaking  boys  the  world 
over.  They  are  merry  or  not,  brave  or  not,  kind 
or  not,  as  boys  go ;  but  it  may  be  that  they  are 
somewhat  merrier  and  braver  and  kinder  than 
boys  to  whom  self-reliance  and  physical  courage 
are  less  needful.  At  any  rate,  they  have  adven- 
tures, every  one  of  them  ;  and  that  is  not  sur- 
prising— for  the  conditions  of  life  are  such  that 
every  Newfoundland  lad  intimately  knows  hard- 
ship and  peril  at  an  age  when  the  boys  of  the 
cities  still  grasp  a  hand  when  they  cross  the 
street 

N.  D. 

New  York,  Sefttmber^  1906, 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I     .  .  1 1 

In  which  young  Billy  Topsail  of  Ruddy  Cove  puts  out  to 
his  first  adventure  with  his  dog  in  the  bow  of  the  punt 

CHAPTER  II 19 

Concerning  the  behaviour  of  Billy  Topsail  and  his  dog 
in  the  water  when  the  Never  Givt  Up  went  to  the  bot- 
tom, and  closing  with  an  apology  and  a  wag  of  the  tail. 

CHAPTER  III 26 

Describing  the  haunts  and  habits  of  devil-fish  and  inform- 
ing the  reader  of  Billy  Topsail's  determination  to  make 
a  capture  at  all  hazards. 

CHAPTER  IV 34 

Recounting  the  adventure  of  the  giant  squid  of  Chain 
Tickle,  in  which  the  punt  gets  in  the  grip  of  a  gigantic 
tentacle  and  Billy  Topsail  strikes  with  an  axe. 

CHAPTER  V 44 

On  the  face  of  the  cliff:  Wherein  Billy  Topsail  gets  lost 
in  a  perilous  place  and  sits  down  to  recover  his  com- 
posure. 

CHAPTER  VI 52 

In  which  Billy  Topsail  loses  his  nerve.  Wherein,  also, 
the  wings  of  gulls  seem  to  brush  past. 

CHAPTER  VII          .......       59 

In  which  Billy  Topsail  hears  the  fur  trader's  story  of  a 
jigger  and  a  cake  of  ice  in  the  wind. 

CHAPTER  VIII 69 

In  the  off-shore  gale :  In  which  Billy  Topsail  goes  seal 
hunting  and  is  swept  to  sea  with  the  floe. 

CHAPTER  IX 78 

In  which  old  Tom  Topsail  burns  his  punt  and  Billy 
wanders  in  the  night  and  three  lives  hang  on  a 
change  of  wind. 

9 


8  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  X 86 

How  Billy  Topsail's  friend  Bobby  Lot  joined  fortunes 
with  Eli  Zitt  and  whether  or  not  he  proved  worthy  of 
the  partnership. 

CHAPTER  XI  .         .         .         .         .         .         .  93 

Bobby  Lot  learns  to  swim  and  Eli  Zitt  shows  amazing 
courage  and  self-possession  and  strength. 

CHAPTER  XII          .         .         .         .         .         .         .104 

Containing  the  surprising  adventure  of  Eli  Zitt's  little 
partner  on  the  way  back  from  Fortune  Harbour,  in 
which  a  Newfoundland  dog  displays  a  saving  intelli- 
gence. 

CHAPTER  XIII         .         .         .         .  .         .116 

In  which  Billy  Topsail  sets  sail  for  the  Labrador,  the 
Rescue  strikes  an  iceberg,  and  Billy  is  commanded  to 
pump  for  his  life. 

CHAPTER  XIV 123 

Faithfully  narrating  the  amazing  experiences  of  a  New- 
foundland  schooner  and  describing  Billy  Topsail's  con- 
duct in  a  sinking  boat. 

CHAPTER  XV 131 

In  which  the  Ruddy  Cove  doctor  tells  Billy  Topsail  and 
a  stranger  how  he  came  to  learn  that  the  longest  way 
'round  is  sometimes  the  shortest  way  home. 

CHAPTER  XVI 142 

Describing  how  Billy  Topsail  set  out  for  Ruddy  Cove 
with  Her  Majesty's  Mail  and  met  with  catastrophe. 

CHAPTER  XVII 151 

Billy  Topsail  wrings  out  his  clothes  and  finds  himself 
cut  off  from  shore  by  thirty  yards  of  heaving  ice. 

CHAPTER  XVIII 159 

In  which  Billy  Topsail  joins  the  whaler  Viking  and  a 
school  is  sighted. 

CHAPTER  XIX         .         .         ,         .         .         .         .164 

In  which  the  chase  is  kept  up  and  the  captain  promises 
himself  a  kill. 


CONTENTS  9 

CHAPTER  XX 172 

The  mate  of  the  fin-back  whale  rises  for  the  last  time, 
with  a  blood-red  sunset  beyond,  and  Billy  Topsail  says, 
«  Too  bad  !  " 

CHAPTER  XXI 176 

In  which  Billy  Topsail  goes  fishing  in  earnest.  Con- 
cerning, also,  Feather's  Folly  of  the  Devil's  Teeth, 
Mary  Robinson,  and  the  wreck  of  the  Fish  Killer. 

CHAPTER  XXII 184 

The  crew  of  the  Fish  Killer  finds  refuge  on  an  iceberg 
and  discovers  greater  safety  elsewhere,  after  which  the 
cook  is  mistaken  for  a  fool,  but  puts  the  crew  to  shame. 

CHAPTER  XXIII 196 

In  which  the  clerk  of  the  trader  Tax  yarns  of  a  madman 
in  the  cabin. 

CHAPTER  XXIV 208 

In  which  a  pirate's  cave  grows  interesting,  and  two 
young  members  of  the  Ethnological  and  Antiquarian 
Club  of  St.  John's,  undertake  an  adventure  under  the 
guidance  of  Billy  Topsail. 

CHAPTER  XXV 216 

In  which  there  is  a  landslide  at  Little  Tickle  Basin  and 
something  of  great  interest  and  peculiar  value  is  dis- 
covered in  the  cave. 

CHAPTER  XXVI 223 

In  which  Billy  Topsail  determines  to  go  to  the  ice  in  the 
spring  of  the  year,  and  young  Archibald  Armstrong  of 
St.  John's  is  permitted  to  set  out  upon  an  adventure 
which  promises  to  be  perilous  and  profitable. 

CHAPTER  XXVII 231 

While  Billy  Topsail  is  about  his  own  business  Arcnie 
Armstrong  stands  on  the  bridge  of  the  Dictator  and 
Captain  Hand  orders  "Full  speed  ahead!"  on  the 
stroke  of  twelve. 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 238 

In  which  Archie  Armstrong  falls  in  with  Bill  o*  Burnt 
Bay  and  Billy  Topsail  of  Ruddy  Cove,  and  makes  * 
speech, 


io  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XXIX      .         .         „         ....     246 

Billy  Topsail  is  shipped  upon  conditions,  and  the  Dictator t 
in  a  rising  gale,  is  caught  in  a  field  of  drift  ice,  with  a 
growler  to  leeward. 

CHAPTER  XXX 255 

In  which  Archie  Armstrong  and  Billy  Topsail  have  an 
exciting  encounter  with  a  big  dog  hood,  and,  at  the  sound 
of  alarm,  leave  the  issue  in  doubt,  while  the  ice  goes 
abroad  and  the  enemy  goes  swimming. 

CHAPTER  XXXI 264 

The  Dictator  charges  an  ice  pan  and  loses  a  main  topmast. 

CHAPTER  XXXII 272 

In  which  seals  are  sighted  and  Archie  Armstrong  has  a 
narrow  chance  in  the  crow's-nest. 

CHAPTER  XXXTII 279 

The  ice  runs  red,  and,  in  storm  and  dusk,  Tim  Tuttle 
brews  a  pot  o'  trouble  for  Captain  Hand,  while  Billy 
Topsail  observes  the  operation. 

CHAPTER  XXXIV 287 

In  which  Tim  Turtle's  shaft  flies  straight  for  the  mark. 
The  crews  of  the  Dictator  and  Lucky  Star  declare 
war,  and  Captain  Hand  is  threatened  with  the  shame 
of  dishonour,  while  young  Billy  Topsail,  who  has  the 
solution  of  the  difficulty,  is  in  the  hold  of  the  ship. 

CHAPTER  XXXV    . 296 

In  which  the  issue  is  determined. 

CHAPTER  XXXVI 302 

It  appears  that  the  courage  and  strength  of  the  son  of 
a  colonial  knight  are  to  be  tried.  The  hunters  arc 
caught  in  a  great  storm. 

CHAPTER  XXXVII 308 

In  which  the  men  are  lost,  the  Dictator  is  nipped  and 
Captain  Hand  sobs,  "  Poor  Sir  Archibald  !  " 

CHAPTER  XXX VIII 317 

And  last :  In  which  wind  and  snow  and  cold  have 
their  way  and  death  lands  on  the  floe.  Billy  Topsail 
gives  himself  to  a  gust  of  wind,  and  Archie  Armstrong 
finds  peril  and  hardship  stern  teachers.  Concerning, 
also,  a  new  sloop,  a  fore-an'-after  and  a  tailor's  lay 
figure. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PACING 
PAGB 


His  CLOTHES  WERE  FROZEN  STIFF,  AND   HE  HAD  TO 

BEAT  THEM  ON  THE  ICE  TO  SOFTEN  THEM    .         .  Title 

BILLY  RAISED  His  HAND  AS  IF  TO  STRIKE  HIM     .         .  20 

THEN  LIKE  A  FLASH  IT  SHOT  TOWARDS  THE  BOAT         .  38 

" JUMPED  LIKE  A  STAG  FOR  THE  SECOND  PAN"     .         .  62 

BILLY  STAGGERED  INTO  THE  CIRCLH  OF  LIGHT      .         .  82 

"  SHE'S   LOST,"   HE   THOUGHT.     "  LOST   WITH    ALL 

HANDS  "           .          .          .          .          .          .          .  1 26 

"  MY  LITTLE  LAD'S  WONDERFUL  SICK.    COME  QUICK  !  "  132 

"  IT  is  A  DEAD  WALE  !  " 174 

HE  WAS  NEAR  THE  END  OF  THE  SIXTEENTH  VERSE         .  245 
THEN  HE  ADVANCED  UPON  THE  BOY           .         .         .261 

**  LASH  YOUR  Tows,  B'YS,"  SAID  BILL.     a«  LEAVE  THE 

REST  Go " 305 

"  WE'RE  SAVED  !"  SAID  BILL 326 


The  publishers  acknowledge  the  courtesy  of  The  YoutWs  Com- 
panion and  Outing  for  the  use  of  various  illustrations  appearing 
originally  in  these  periodicals. 


THE  ADVENTURES 
OF  BILLY   TOPSAIL 

CHAPTER  I 

In  Which  Young  Billy  Topsail  of  Ruddy  Cove 
Puts  Out  to  His  First  Adventure  with  His  Dog 
in  the  Bow  of  the  Punt 

FROM  the  very  beginning  it  was  inevitable 
that  Billy  Topsail  should  have  adventures. 
He  was  a  fisherman's  son,  born  at  Ruddy 
Cove,  which  is  a  fishing  harbour  on  the  bleak 
northeast  coast  of  Newfoundland ;  and  there  was 
nothing  else  for  it.  All  Newfoundland  boys 
have  adventures;  but  not  all  Newfoundland 
boys  survive  them.  And  there  came,  in  the 
course  of  the  day's  work  and  play,  to  Billy  Top- 
sail, many  adventures.  The  first — the  first  real 
adventure  in  which  Billy  Topsail  was  abandoned 
to  his  own  wit  and  strength — came  by  reason  of 
a  gust  of  wind  and  his  own  dog.  It  was  not 
strange  that  a  gust  of  wind  should  overturn 

Billy  Topsail's  punt ;  but  that  old  Skipper  should 

is 


i* :  \Tte  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

turn  troublesome  in  the  thick  of  the  mess  was  an 
event  the  most  unexpected.     .    . 

Skipper  was  a  Newfoundland  dog,  born  of  re- 
putable parents  at  Back  Arm  and  decently  bred  in 
Ruddy  Cove.  He  had  black  hair,  short,  straight 
and  wiry — the  curly-haired  breed  has  failed  on 
the  Island — and  broad,  ample  shoulders,  which 
his  forbears  had  transmitted  to  him  from  gener- 
ations of  hauling  wood. 

He  was  heavy,  awkward  and  ugly,  resem- 
bling somewhat  a  great  draft-horse.  But  he 
pulled  with  a  will,  fended  for  himself,  and  within 
the  knowledge  of  men  had  never  stolen  a  fish  ;  so 
he  had  a  high  place  in  the  hearts  of  all  the  people 
of  the  Cove,  and  a  safe  one  in  their  estimation. 

"  Skipper  !    Skipper !     Here,  b'y ! " 

The  ringing  call,  in  the  voice  of  Billy  Topsail, 
never  failed  to  bring  the  dog  from  the  kitchen 
with  an  eager  rush,  when  the  snow  lay  deep  on  the 
rocks,  and  all  the  paths  of  the  wilderness  were  ready 
for  the  sled.  He  stood  stock-still  for  the  harness, 
and  at  the  first  "Hi,  b'y!  Gee  up  there !"  he 
bounded  away  with  a  wagging  tail  and  a  glad  bark. 
It  was  as  if  nothing  pleased  him  so  much  on  a  frosty 
morning  as  the  prospect  of  a  hard  day's  work. 


HIS  FIRST  ADVENTURE  13 

If  the  call  came  in  summer-time  when  Skipper 
was  dozing  in  the  cool  shadow  of  a  flake — a 
platform  of  boughs  for  drying  fish — he  scrambled 
to  his  feet,  took  his  clog1  in  his  mouth  and  ran, 
all  a-quiver  for  what  might  come,  to  where  young 
Billy  waited.  If  the  clog  were  taken  off,  as  it 
was  almost  sure  to  be,  it  meant  sport  in  the 
water.  Then  Skipper  would  paw  the  ground 
and  whine  until  the  stick  was  flung  out  for  him. 
But  best  of  all  he  loved  to  dive  for  stones. 

At  the  peep  of  many  a  day,  too,  he  went  out 
in  the  punt  to  the  fishing-grounds  with  Billy 
Topsail,  and  there  kept  the  lad  good  company 
all  the  day  long.  It  was  because  he  sat  on  the 
little  cuddy  in  the  bow,  as  if  keeping  a  lookout 
ahead,  that  he  was  called  Skipper. 

"Sure,  'tis  a  clever  dog,  that!"  was  Billy's 
boast.  "  He  would  save  life — that  dog  would ! " 

This  was  proved  beyond  doubt  when  little 
Isaiah  Tommy  Goodman  toddled  over  the  wharf- 
head,  where  he  had  been  playing  with  a  squid. 
Isaiah  Tommy  was  four  years  old,  and  would 


1  In  Newfoundland  the  law  requires  that  all  dogs  shall  be  clogged 
as  a  precaution  against  their  killing  sheep  and  goats  which  run  wild. 
The  clog  is  in  the  form  of  a  billet  of  wood,  weighing  at  least  seven 
and  a  half  pounds,  and  tied  to  the  dog's  neck. 


i4     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

surely  have  been  drowned  had  not  Skipper 
strolled  down  the  wharf  just  at  that  moment. 

Skipper  was  obedient  to  the  instinct  of  all  New- 
foundland dogs  to  drag  the  sons  of  men  from 
the  water.  He  plunged  in  and  caught  Isaiah 
Tommy  by  the  collar  of  his  pinafore.  Still  fol- 
lowing his  instinct,  he  kept  the  child's  head 
above  water  with  powerful  strokes  of  his  fore 
paws  while  he  towed  him  to  shore.  Then  the 
outcry  which  Isaiah  Tommy  immediately  set  up 
brought  his  mother  to  complete  the  rescue. 

For  this  deed  Skipper  was  petted  for  a  day 
and  a  half,  and  fed  with  fried  caplin  and  salt 
pork,  to  his  evident  gratification.  No  doubt  he 
was  persuaded  that  he  had  acted  worthily. 
However  that  be,  he  continued  in  merry  moods, 
in  affectionate  behaviour,  in  honesty — although 
the  fish  were  even  then  drying  on  the  flakes,  all 
exposed — and  he  carried  his  clog  like  a  hero. 

"Skipper,"  Billy  Topsail  would  ejaculate, 
"  you  do  be  a  clever  dog  1 " 

One  day  in  the  spring  of  the  year,  when  high 
winds  spring  suddenly  from  the  land,  Billy  Top- 
sail was  fishing  from  the  punt,  the  Never  Give 
Up,  over  the  shallows  off  Molly's  Head.  It  was 


HIS  FIRST  ADVENTURE  15 

"  fish  weather,"  as  the  Ruddy  Cove  men  say — • 
gray,  cold  and  misty.  The  harbour  entrance  lay 
two  miles  to  the  southwest.  The  bluffs  which 
marked  it  were  hardly  discernible,  for  the  mist 
hung  thick  off  the  shore.  Four  punts  and  a 
skiff  were  bobbing  half  a  mile  farther  out  to  sea, 
their  crews  fishing  with  hook  and  line  over  the 
side.  Thicker  weather  threatened  and  the  day 
was  near  spent. 

"  'Tis  time  to  be  off  home,  b'y,"  said  Billy  to 
the  dog.  "  'Tis  getting  thick  in  the  sou' west." 

Skipper  stretched  himself  and  wagged  his  tail. 
He  had  no  word  to  say,  but  Billy,  who,  like  all 
fishermen  in  remote  places,  had  formed  the  habit 
of  talking  to  himself,  supplied  the  answer. 

"  'Tis  that,  Billy,  b'y,"  said  he.  "  The  punt's 
as  much  as  one  hand  can  manage  in  a  fair  wind. 
An'  'tis  a  dead  beat  to  the  harbour  now." 

Then  Billy  said  a  word  for  himself.  "  We'll 
put  in  for  ballast.  The  punt's  too  light  for  a 
gale." 

He  sculled  the  punt  to  the  little  cove  by  the 
Head,  and  there  loaded  her  with  rocks.  Her 
sails,  mainsail  and  tiny  jib,  were  spread,  and  she 
was  pointed  for  Grassy  Island,  on  the  first  leg  of 
her  beat  into  the  wind.  By  this  time  two  other 


16     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

punts  were  under  way,  and  the  sails  of  the  skiff 
were  fluttering  as  her  crew  prepared  to  beat 
home  for  the  night.  The  Never  Give  Up  was 
ahead  of  the  fleet,  and  held  her  lead  in  such  fine 
fashion  as  made  Billy  Topsail's  heart  swell  with 
pride. 

The  wind  had  gained  in  force.  It  was  sweep- 
ing down  from  the  hills  in  gusts.  Now  it  fell  to 
a  breeze,  and  again  it  came  swiftly  with  angry 
strength.  Nor  could  its  advance  be  perceived, 
for  the  sea  was  choppy  and  the  bluffs  shielded 
the  inshore  waters. 

"We'll  fetch  the  harbour  on  the  next  tack," 
Billy  muttered  to  Skipper,  who  was  whining  in 
the  bow. 

He  put  the  steering  oar  hard  alee  to  bring  the 
punt  about.  A  gust  caught  the  sails.  The  boat 
heeled  before  it,  and  her  gunwale  was  under  water 
before  Billy  could  make  a  move  to  save  her. 
The  wind  forced  her  down,  pressing  heavily  upon 
the  canvas. 

"  Easy  I  "  screamed  Billy. 

But  the  ballast  of  the  Never  Give  Up  shifted, 
and  she  toppled  over.  Boy  and  dog  were  thrown 
into  the  sea — the  one  aft,  the  other  forward 
Billy  dived  deep  to  escape  entanglement  with  the 


HIS  FIRST  ADVENTURE  17 

rigging  of  the  boat.  He  had  long  ago  learned 
the  lesson  that  presence  of  mind  wins  half  the 
fight  in  perilous  emergencies.  The  coward  mis- 
erably perishes  where  the  brave  man  survives. 
With  his  courage  leaping  to  meet  his  predica- 
ment, he  struck  out  for  windward  and  rose  to  the 
surface. 

He  looked  about  for  the  punt.  She  had  been 
heavily  weighted  with  ballast,  and  he  feared  for 
her.  What  was  he  to  do  if  she  had  been  too 
heavily  weighted  ?  Even  as  he  looked  she  sank. 
She  had  righted  under  water ;  the  tip  of  the  mast 
was  the  last  he  saw  of  her. 

The  sea— cold,  fretful,  vast — lay  all  about  him. 
The  coast  was  half  a  mile  to  windward ;  the  punts, 
out  to  sea,  were  laboriously  beating  towards  him, 
and  could  make  no  greater  speed.  He  had  to 
choose  between  the  punts  and  the  rocks. 

A  whine — with  a  strange  note  in  it — attracted 
his  attention.  The  big  dog  had  caught  sight  of 
him,  and  was  beating  the  water  in  a  frantic  effort 
to  approach  quickly.  But  the  dog  had  never 
whined  like  that  before. 

"  Hi,  Skipper !  "  Billy  called.  "  Steady,  b'y  1 
Steady ! " 

Billy  took  off  his  boots  as  fast  as  he  could. 


18     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

The  dog  was  coming  nearer,  still  whining 
strangely,  and  madly  pawing  the  water.  Billy 
was  mystified.  What  possessed  the  dog  ?  It  was 
as  if  he  had  been  seized  with  a  fit  of  terror.  Was 
he  afraid  of  drowning?  His  eyes  were  fairly 
flaring.  Such  a  light  had  never  been  in  them 
before. 

In  the  instant  he  had  for  speculation  the  boy 
lifted  himself  high  in  the  water  and  looked  in- 
tently into  the  dog's  eyes.  It  was  terror  he  saw 
in  them  ;  there  could  be  no  doubt  about  that,  he 
thought.  The  dog  was  afraid  for  his  life.  At 
once  Billy  was  filled  with  dread.  He  could  not 
crush  the  feeling  down.  Afraid  of  Skipper — the 
old,  affectionate  Skipper — his  own  dog,  which  he 
had  reared  from  a  puppy  !  It  was  absurd. 

But  he  was  afraid,  nevertheless — and  he  was 
desperately  afraid. 

"  Back,  b'y  1 "  he  cried.     "  Get  back,  sir ! " 


CHAPTER  II 

Concerning  the  Behaviour  of  Billy  Topsail  and 
His  Dog  in  the  Water  When  the  Never  Give 
Up  Went  to  the  Bottom,  and  Closing  With  an 
Apology  and  a  Wag  of  the  Tail 

IT  chanced  that  Billy  Topsail  was  a  strong 
swimmer.  He  had  learned  to  swim  where  the 
water  is  cold — cold,  often,  as'  the  icebergs 
stranded  in  the  harbour  can  make  it.  The  water 
was  bitter  cold  now ;  but  he  did  not  fear  it ;  nor 
did  he  doubt  that  he  could  accomplish  the  long 
swim  which  lay  before  him.  It  was  the  un- 
accountable behaviour  of  the  dog  which  disturbed 
him — his  failure  in  obedience,  which  could  not 
be  explained.  The  dog  was  now  within  three 
yards,  and  excited  past  all  reason. 

"  Back,  sir ! "  Billy  screamed.  Get  back  with 
you ! " 

Skipper  was  not  deterred  by  the  command. 
He  did  not  so  much  as  hesitate.  Billy  raised  his 
hand  as  if  to  strike  him — a  threatening  gesture 
which  had  sent  Skipper  home  with  his  tail  be- 
tween his  legs  many  a  time.  But  it  had  no  effect 
now. 

"  Get  back  !  "  Billy  screamed  again. 
19 


20     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

It  was  plain  that  the  dog  was  not  to  be  bidden. 
Billy  threw  himself  on  his  back,  supported  him- 
self with  his  hands  and  kicked  at  the  dog  with 
his  feet. 

Skipper  was  blinded  by  the  splashing.  He 
whined  and  held  back.  Then  blindly  he  came 
again.  Billy  moved  slowly  from  him,  head  fore- 
most, still  churning  the  water  with  his  feet.  But, 
swimming  thus,  he  was  no  match  for  the  dog. 
With  his  head  thrown  back  to  escape  the  blows, 
Skipper  forged  after  him.  He  was  struck  in  the 
jaws,  in  the  throat,  and  again  in  the  jaws.  But 
he  pawed  on,  taking  every  blow  without  com- 
plaint, and  gaining  inch  by  inch.  Soon  he  was 
so  close  that  the  lad  could  no  longer  move  his 
feet  freely.  Then  the  dog  chanced  to  catch  one 
foot  with  his  paw,  and  forced  it  under.  Billy 
could  not  beat  him  off. 

No  longer  opposed,  the  dog  crept  up — paw 
over  paw,  forcing  the  boy's  body  lower  and 
lower.  His  object  was  clear  to  Billy.  Skipper, 
frenzied  by  terror,  the  boy  thought,  would  try  to 
save  himself  by  climbing  on  his  shoulders. 

"  Skipper  ! "  he  cried.  "  You'll  drown  me  I 
Get  back  ! " 

The  futility  of  attempting  to  command  obe* 


IN  THE  WATER  21 

dience  from  a  crazy  dog  struck  Billy  Topsail 
with  force.  He  must  act  otherwise,  and  that 
quickly,  if  he  were  to  escape.  There  seemed 
to  be  but  one  thing  to  do.  He  took  a  long 
breath  and  let  himself  sink — down — down — as 
deep  as  he  dared.  Down — down — until  he  re- 
tained breath  sufficient  but  to  strike  to  the  right 
and  rise  again. 

The  dog — as  it  was  made  known  later — rose 
as  high  as  he  could  force  himself,  and  looked 
about  in  every  direction,  with  his  mouth  open 
and  his  ears  rigidly  cocked.  He  gave  two  sharp 
barks,  like  sobs,  and  a  long,  mournful  whine. 
Then,  as  if  acting  upon  sudden  thought,  he  dived. 

For  a  moment  nothing  was  to  be  seen  of 
either  boy  or  dog.  There  was  nothing  but  a 
choppy  sea  in  that  place.  Men  who  were  watch- 
ing thought  that  both  had  followed  the  Never 
Give  Up  to  the  bottom. 

In  the  momentary  respite  under  water  Billy 
perceived  that  his  situation  was  desperate.  He 
would  rise,  he  was  sure,  but  only  to  renew  the 
struggle.  How  long  he  could  keep  the  dog  off 
he  could  not  tell.  Until  the  punts  came  down 
to  his  aid  ?  He  thought  not. 

He  came  to  the  surface  prepared  to  dive  again. 


22     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

But  Skipper  had  disappeared.  An  ejaculation 
of  thanksgiving  was  yet  on  the  boy's  lips  when 
the  dog's  black  head  rose  and  moved  swiftly  to- 
wards him.  Billy  had  a  start  of  ten  yards — or 
something  more. 

He  turned  on  his  side  and  set  off  at  top  speed. 
There  was  no  better  swimmer  among  the  lads  of 
the  harbour.  Was  he  a  match  for  a  powerful 
Newfoundland  dog?  It  was  soon  evident  that 
he  was  not. 

Skipper  gained  rapidly.  Billy  felt  a  paw 
strike  his  foot.  He  put  more  strength  into  his 
strokes.  Next  the  paw  struck  the  calf  of  his  leg. 
The  dog  was  upon  him  now — pawing  his  back. 
Billy  could  not  sustain  the  weight.  To  escape, 
that  he  might  take  up  the  fight  in  another  way, 
he  dived  again. 

The  dog  was  waiting  when  Billy  came  up — wait- 
ing eagerly,  on  the  alert  to  continue  the  chase. 

"  Skipper,  old  fellow — good  old  dog ! "  Billy 
called  in  a  soothing  voice.  "  Steady,  sir !  Down, 
sir— back ! " 

The  dog  was  not  to  be  deceived.  He  came, 
by  turns  whining  and  gasping.  He  was  more 
excited,  more  determined,  than  ever.  Billy 
waited  for  him.  The  fight  was  to  be  face  to  face. 


IN  THE  WATER  23 

The  boy  had  determined  to  keep  him  off  with  his 
hands  until  strength  failed — to  drown  him  if  he 
could.  All  love  for  the  dog  had  gone  out  of  his 
heart.  The  weeks  of  close  and  merry  compan- 
ionship, of  romps  and  rambles  and  sport,  were 
forgotten.  Billy  was  fighting  for  life.  So  he 
waited  without  pity,  hoping  only  that  his  strength 
might  last  until  he  had  conquered. 

When  the  dog  was  within  reach  Billy  struck 
him  in  the  face.  A  snarl  and  an  angry  snap  were 
the  result. 

Rage  seemed  suddenly  to  possess  the  dog.  He 
held  back  for  a  moment,  growling  fiercely,  and 
then  attacked  with  a  rush.  Billy  fought  as  best 
he  could,  trying  to  clutch  his  enemy  by  the  neck 
and  to  force  his  head  beneath  the  waves.  The 
effort  was  vain  ;  the  dog  eluded  his  grasp  and 
renewed  the  attack.  In  another  moment  he  had 
laid  his  heavy  paws  on  the  boy's  shoulders. 

The  weight  was  too  much  for  Billy.  Down  he 
went ;  freed  himself,  and  struggled  to  the  surface, 
gasping  for  breath.  It  appeared  to  him  now 
that  he  had  but  a  moment  to  live.  He  felt  his 
self-possession  going  from  him — and  at  that 
moment  his  ears  caught  the  sound  of  a  voice. 

"Put  your  arm " 


24     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

The  voice  seemed  to  come  from  far  away.  Be- 
fore the  sentence  was  completed,  the  dog's  paws 
were  again  on  Billy's  shoulders  and  the  water 
stopped  the  boy's  hearing.  What  were  they 
calling  to  him  ?  The  thought  that  some  helping 
hand  was  near  inspired  him.  With  this  new 
courage  to  aid,  he  dived  for  the  third  time.  The 
voice  was  nearer — clearer — when  he  came  up, 
and  he  heard  every  word. 

"  Put  your  arm  around  his  neck  !  "  one  man 
cried. 

"  Catch  him  by  the  scruff  of  the  neck  ! "  cried 
another. 

Billy's  self-possession  returned.  He  would 
follow  this  direction.  Skipper  swam  anxiously 
to  him.  It  may  be  that  he  wondered  what  this 
new  attitude  meant.  It  may  be  that  he  hoped 
reason  had  returned  to  the  boy — that  at  last  he 
would  allow  himself  to  be  saved.  Billy  caught 
the  dog  by  the  scruff  of  the  neck  when  he  was 
within  arm's  length.  Skipper  wagged  his  tail 
and  turned  about. 

There  was  a  brief  pause,  during  which  the 
faithful  old  dog  determined  upon  the  direction 
he  would  take.  He  espied  the  punts,  which  had 
borne  down  with  all  speed.  Towards  them  he 


IN  THE  WATER  25 

swam,  and  there  was  something  of  pride  in  his 
mighty  strokes,  something  of  exultation  in  his 
whine.  Billy  struck  out  with  his  free  hand,  and 
soon  boy  and  dog  were  pulled  over  the  side  of 
the  nearest  punt. 

Through  it  all,  as  Billy  now  knew,  the  dog  had 
only  wanted  to  save  him. 

That  night  Billy  Topsail  took  Skipper  aside  for 
a  long  and  confidential  talk.  "Skipper,"  said 
he,  "  I  beg  your  pardon.  You  see,  I  didn't  know 
what  'twas  you  wanted.  I'm  sorry  I  ever  had  a 
hard  thought  against  you,  and  I'm  sorry  I  tried 
to  drown  you.  When  I  thought  you  only 
wanted  to  save  yourself,  'twas  Billy  Topsail  you 
were  thinking  of.  When  I  thought  you  wanted 
to  climb  atop  of  me,  'twas  my  collar  you  wanted 
to  catch.  When  I  thought  you  wanted  to  bite 
me,  'twas  a  scolding  you  were  giving  me  for  my 
foolishness.  Skipper,  b'y,  honest,  I  beg  your 
pardon.  Next  time  I'll  know  that  all  a  New- 
foundland dog  wants  is  half  a  chance  to  tow  me 
ashore.  And  I'll  give  him  a  whole  chance. 
But,  Skipper,  don't  you  think  you  might  have 
given  me  a  chance  to  do  something  for  myself?" 

At  which  Skipper  wagged  his  tail. 


CHAPTER  III 

Describing  the  Haunts  and  Habits  of  Devil-Fish 
and  Informing  the  Reader  of  Billy  TopsaiVs 
Determination  to  Make  a  Capture  at  all 
Hazards 

WHEN  the  Minister  of  Justice  for  the 
colony   of   Newfoundland   went   away 
from  Ruddy  Cove  by  the  bay  steamer, 
he  chanced  to  leave  an  American  magazine  at 
the  home  of  Billy  Topsail's  father,  where  he  had 
passed  the  night.     The  magazine  contained  an 
illustrated    article    on    the   gigantic   species   of 
cephalopods *  popularly  known  as  devil-fish. 

1  "  The  early  literature  of  natural  history  has,  from  very  remote 
times,  contained  allusions  to  huge  species  of  cephalopods,  often  ac- 
companied by  more  or  less  fabulous  and  usually  exaggerated  descrip- 
tions of  the  creatures.  .  .  .  The  description  of  the  '  poulpe,'  or 
devil-fish,  by  Victor  Hugo,  in  '  Toilers  of  the  Sea,'  with  which  so 
many  readers  are  familiar,  is  quite  as  fabulous  and  unreal  as  any  of 
the  earlier  accounts,  and  even  more  bizarre.  .  .  .  Special  atten- 
tion has  only  recently  been  called  to  the  frequent  occurrence  of  these 
•big  squids,'  as  our  fishermen  call  them,  in  the  waters  of  New- 
foundland and  the  adjacent  coasts.  ...  I  have  been  informed 
by  many  other  fishermen  that  the  '  big  squids '  are  occasionally 
taken  on  the  Grand  Banks  and  used  for  bait.  Nearly  all  the  speci- 
mens hitherto  taken  appear  to  have  been  more  or  less  disabled  when 
first  observed,  otherwise  they  probably  would  not  appear  at  the  sur- 

26 


THE  DEVIL-FISH  27 

Billy  Topsail  did  not  know  what  a  cephalopod 
was ;  but  he  did  know  a  squid  when  he  saw  its 
picture,  for  Ruddy  Cove  is  a  fishing  harbour, 
and  he  had  caught  many  a  thousand  for  bait. 
So  when  he  found  that  to  the  lay  mind  a  squid 
and  a  cephalopod  were  one  and  the  same,  save 
in  size,  he  read  the  long  article  from  beginning  to 
end,  doing  the  best  he  could  with  the  strange, 
long  words. 

So  interested  was  he  that  he  read  it  again; 
and  by  that  time  he  had  learned  enough  to  sur- 
prise him,  even  to  terrify  him,  notwithstanding 
the  writer's  assurance  that  the  power  and  ferocity 
of  the  creatures  had  generally  been  exaggerated. 

He  was  a  lad  of  sound  common  sense.  He 
had  never  wholly  doubted  the  tales  of  desperate 
encounters  with  devil-fish,  told  in  the  harbour 
these  many  years  ;  for  the  various  descriptions  of 
how  the  long,  slimy  arms  had  curled  about  the 
punts  had  rung  too  true  to  be  quite  disbelieved ; 

face  in  the  daytime.  From  the  fact  that  they  have  mostly  come  ashore 
in  the  night,  I  infer  that  they  inhabit  chiefly  the  very  deep  and  cold 
fiords  of  Newfoundland,  and  come  to  the  surface  only  in  the  night." 
— From  the  "  Report  on  the  Cephalopods  of  the  Northeastern  Coast 
of  America,"  by  A.  E.  Verrill.  Extracted  from  a  report  of  the  Com- 
missioner of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  issued  by  the  Government  Printing 
Office  at  Washington.  In  this  report  twenty-five  specimens  of  the 
large  species  taken  in  Newfoundland  are  described  in  detail. 


28     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

but  he  had  considered  them  somewhat  less  cred- 
ible than  certain  wild  yarns  of  shipwreck,  and 
somewhat  more  credible  than  the  bedtime  stories 
of  mermaids  which  the  grandmothers  told  the 
children  of  the  place. 

Here,  however,  in  plain  print,  was  described 
the  capture  of  a  giant  squid  in  a  bay  which  lay 
beyond  a  point  of  land  that  Billy  could  see  from 
the  window. 

That  afternoon  Billy  put  out  in  his  leaky  old 
punt  to  "jig"  squid  for  bait.  He  was  so  dis- 
gusted with  the  punt — so  ashamed  of  the  squat, 
weather-worn,  rotten  cast-off — that  he  wished 
heartily  for  a  new  one  all  the  way  to  the 
grounds.  The  loss  of  the  Never  Give  Up  had 
brought  him  to  humiliating  depths. 

But  when  he  had  once  joined  the  little  fleet  oi 
boats,  he  cheerfully  threw  his  grapnel  into  Bobby 
Lot's  punt  and  beckoned  Bobby  aboard.  Then, 
as  together  they  drew  the  writhing-armed,  squirt- 
ing little  squids  from  the  water,  he  told  of  the 
"big  squids"  which  lurked  in  the  deep  water 
beyond  the  harbour;  and  all  the  time  Bobby 
opened  his  eyes  wider  and  wider. 

" Is  they  just  like  squids? "  Bobby  asked. 

"But     bigger,"     answered     Billy.       "Their 


THE  DEVIL-FISH  29 

bodies  is  so  big  as  hogsheads.  Their  arms  is 
thirty-five  feet  long." 

Bobby  picked  a  squid  from  the  heap  in  the 
bottom  of  the  boat  It  had  instinctively  turned 
from  a  reddish-brown  to  a  livid  green,  the  colour 
of  sea-water;  indeed,  had  it  been  in  the  water, 
its  enemy  would  have  had  hard  work  to  see  it. 

He  handled  it  gingerly ;  but  the  ugly  little 
creature  managed  somehow  to  twine  its  slender 
arms  about  his  hand,  and  swiftly  to  take  hold  with 
a  dozen  cup-like  suckers.  The  boy  uttered  an 
exclamation  of  disgust,  and  shook  it  off.  Then 
he  shuddered,  laughed  at  himself,  shuddered 
again.  A  moment  later  he  chose  a  dead  squid 
for  examination. 

"Leave  us  look  at  it  close,"  said  he.  "Then 
we'll  know  what  a  real  devil-fish  is  like.  Sure, 
I've  been  wantin'  to  know  that  for  a  long,  long 
time." 

They  observed  the  long,  cylindrical  body, 
flabby  and  cold,  with  the  broad,  flap-like  tail 
attached.  The  head  was  repulsively  ugly — • 
perhaps  because  of  the  eyes,  which  were  dispro- 
portionately large,  brilliant,  and,  in  the  live 
squid,  ferocious. 

A  group  of  arms — two  long,  slender,  tentacular 


30     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

arms,  and  eight  shorter,  thicker  ones — projected 
from  the  region  of  the  mouth,  which,  indeed, 
was  set  in  the  centre  of  the  ring  they  formed 
at  the  roots.  They  were  equipped  with  innu- 
merable little  suckers,  were  flexible  and  active, 
and  as  long  as  the  head,  body  and  tail  put  to- 
gether. 

Closer  examination  revealed  that  there  was  a 
horny  beak,  like  a  parrot's,  in  the  mouth,  and 
that  on  the  under  side  of  the  head  was  a  curious 
tube-like  structure. 

"Oh,  that's  his  squirter!"  Billy  explained. 
"  When  he  wants  to  back  up  he  points  that  for- 
ward, and  squirts  out  water  so  hard  as  he  can ; 
and  when  he  wants  to  go  ahead  he  points  it 
backward,  and  does  the  same  thing.  That's 
where  his  ink  comes  from,  too,  when  he  wants  to 
make  the  water  so  dirty  nobody  can  see  him." 

"What  does  he  do  with  his  beak?" 

"  When  he  gets  his  food  in  his  arms  he  bites 
out  pieces  with  his  beak.  He  hasn't  any  teeth  ; 
but  he's  got  something  just  as  good — a  tongue 
like  a  rasp." 

"  I  wouldn't  like  to  be  cotched  by  a  squid  as 
big  as  a  hogshead,"  Bobby  remarked,  timidly. 

"Hutl"    said    Billy,    grimly0     "He'd    make 


THE  DEVIL-FISH  31 

short  work  o'  you  !  Why,  b'y,  they  weighs  half 
a  ton  apiece !  I  isn't  much  afraid,  though,"  he 
added.  "They're  only  squid.  Afore  I  read 
about  them  in  the  book  I  used  to  think  they  wag 
worse  than  they  is — terrible  ghostlike  things. 
But  they're  no  worse  than  squids,  only  bigger, 
and " 

"They're  bad  enough  for  me"  Bobby  inter- 
rupted. 

"  And,"  Billy  concluded,  "  they  only  comes  up 
in  the  night  or  when  they're  sore  wounded  and 
dyin'." 

"  I'm  not  goin'  out  at  night,  if  I  can  help  it," 
said  Bobby,  with  a  canny  shake  of  the  head. 

"  If  they  was  a  big  squid  come  up  the  harbour 
to  your  house,"  said  Billy,  after  a  pause,  "and 
got  close  to  the  rock,  he  could  put  one  o* 
they  two  long  arms  in  your  bedroom  window, 
and " 

"Tis  in  the  attic!" 

"Never  mind  that  He  could  put  it  in  the 
window  and  feel  around  for  your  bed,  and  twist 
that  arm  around  you,  and " 

"  I'd  cut  it  off ! " 

"  Anyhow,  that's  how  long  they  is.  And  if  he 
knowed  you  was  there,  and  wanted  you,  he 


32     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

could  get  you.  But  I'm  not  so  sure  that  he 
would  want  you.  He  couldn't  see  you,  anyhow  ; 
and  if  he  could,  he'd  rather  have  a  good  fat 
salmon." 

Bobby  shuddered  as  he  looked  at  the  tiny 
squid  in  his  hand,  and  thought  of  the  dreadful 
possibilities  in  one  a  thousand  times  as  big. 

"You  leave  them  alone,  and  they'll  leave  you 
alone,"  Billy  went  on.  "  But  if  you  once  make 
them  mad,  they  can  dart  their  arms  out  like 
lightning.  'Tis  time  to  get,  then  ! " 

"  I'm  goin'  to  keep  an  axe  in  my  punt  after 
this,"  said  Bobby,  "and  if  I  sees  an  arm  slippin' 
out  of  the  water " 

"  'Tis  as  big  as  your  thigh  ! "  cried  Billy. 

"  Never  mind.  If  I  sees  it  I'll  be  able  to  cut  it 
off." 

"  If  I  sees  one,"  said  Billy,  "  I'm  goin'  to  cotch 
it  It  said  in  the  book  that  they  was  worth  a  lot 
to  some  people.  And  if  I  can  sell  mine  I'm  goin' 
to  have  a  new  punt." 

But  although  Bobby  Lot  and  Billy  Topsail 
kept  a  sharp  lookout  for  giant  squids  wherever 
they  went,  they  were  not  rewarded.  There  was 
not  so  much  as  a  sign  of  one.  By  and  by,  so 
bold  did  they  become,  they  hunted  for  one  in  the 


THE  DEVIL-FISH  33 

twilight  of  summer  days,  even  daring  to  pry  into 
the  deepest  coves  and  holes  in  the  Ruddy  Cove 
rocks. 

Notwithstanding  the  ridicule  he  had  to  meet, 
Bobby  never  ventured  out  in  the  punt  without  a 
sharp  axe.  He  could  not  tell  what  time  he  would 
need  it,  he  said ;  and  thus  he  formed  the  habit  of 
making  sure  that  it  was  in  its  place  before  cast- 
ing off  from  the  wharf. 

As  autumn  drew  near  they  found  other  things 
to  think  of ;  the  big  squids  passed  out  of  mind 
altogether. 

"Wonderful  queer,"  Billy  said,  long  after- 
wards, "  how  things  happen  when  you  isn't  ex- 
pectin'  them  1 " 


CHAPTER  IV 

Recounting  the  Adventure  of  the  Giant  Squid  oj 
Chain   Tickle ',  in   Which  the  Punt  Gets  in  the 
Grip  of  a  Gigantic  Tentacle  and  Billy  Topsail 
Strikes  With  an  Axe 

ONE  day  late  in  September — it  was  near 
evening  of  a  gray  day — Billy  Topsail  and 
Bobby  Lot  were  returning  in  Bobby's 
punt  from  Birds'  Nest  Islands,  whither  they  had 
gone  to  hunt  a  group  of  seals,  reported  to  have 
taken  up  a  temporary  residence  there.  They 
had  a  mighty,  muzzle-loading,  flintlock  gun ; 
and  they  were  so  delighted  with  the  noise  it 
made  that  they  had  exhausted  their  scanty  pro- 
vision of  powder  and  lead  long  before  the  seals 
were  in  sight. 

They  had  taken  the  shortest  way  home.  It 
lay  past  Chain  Hole,  a  small,  landlocked  basin, 
very  deep,  with  a  narrow  entrance,  which  was 
shallow  at  low  tide.  The  entrance  opened  into  a 
broad  bay,  and  was  called  Chain  Tickle. 

"  What's  that  in  the  tickle  ?  "  Billy  exclaimed, 
as  they  were  rowing  past. 

It  was  a  black  object,  apparently  floating 
34 


A  BLOW  WITH  AN  AXE  35 

quietly  on  the  surface  of  the  water.  The  boys 
gazed  at  it  for  a  long  time,  but  could  make  noth- 
ing of  it.  They  were  completely  puzzled. 

"Tis  a  small  bit  o'  wreck,  I'm  thinkin',"  said 
Bobby.  "  Leave  us  row  close  and  see." 

"  Maybe  'tis  a  capsized  punt." 

When  they  were  within  about  thirty  yards  of 
the  object  they  lay  on  their  oars.  For  some  un- 
accountable reason  they  did  not  care  to  venture 
nearer.  Twilight  was  then  fast  approaching. 
The  light  was  already  beginning  to  fail. 

"  'Tis  a  wonderful  queer  thing  1 "  Billy  mut- 
tered, his  curiosity  getting  the  better  of  him. 
"  Row  ahead,  Bobby.  We'll  go  alongside." 

"  They's  something  movin'  on  it !  "  Bobby 
whispered,  as  he  let  his  oars  fall  in  the  water. 
"  Look  1  They's  two  queer,  big,  round  spots  on 
it — big  as  plates." 

Billy  thought  he  saw  the  whole  object  move. 
He  watched  it  closely.  It  did  stir  !  It  was  some 
living  thing,  then.  But  what  ?  A  whale  ? 

A  long,  snakelike  arm  was  lifted  out  of  the 
water.  It  swayed  this  way  and  that,  darted  here 
and  there,  and  fell  back  with  a  splash.  The 
moving  spots,  now  plainly  gigantic  eyes,  glit- 
tered. 


36     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"  'Tis  the  devil-fish  I  "  screamed  Bobby. 

Another  arm  was  lifted  up,  then  a  third  and  a 
fourth  and  a  fifth.  The  monster  began  to  lash 
the  water — faster  and  yet  more  furiously — until 
the  tickle  was  heaving  and  frothy,  and  the  whole 
neighbourhood  was  in  an  uproar. 

"Pull!  Pull! "cried  Bobby. 

Billy,  too,  was  in  a  panic.  They  turned  the 
head  of  the  punt  and  pulled  with  all  their  might. 
The  water  swirled  in  the  wake  of  the  boat.  Per- 
ceiving, however,  that  the  squid  made  no  effort 
to  follow,  they  got  the  better  of  their  fright 
Then  they  lay  on  their  oars  to  watch  the  monster 

They  wondered  why  it  still  lay  in  the  tickle, 
why  it  so  furiously  lashed  the  water  with  its 
arms  and  great  tail.  It  was  Bobby  who  solved 
the  mystery. 

"  'Tis  aground,"  said  he. 

That  was  evidently  the  situation.  The  squid 
had  been  caught  in  the  shallow  tickle  when  the 
tide,  which  ran  swiftly  at  that  point,  was  on  the 
ebb.  The  boys  took  courage.  Their  curiosity 
still  further  emboldened  them.  So  once  more 
they  turned  the  punt  about  and  pulled  cautiously 
towards  the  tickle. 

There  was  less  light  than  before,  but  still  suf- 


A  BLOW  WITH  AN  AXE  37 

ficient  to  disclose  the  baleful  eyes  and  writhing 
arms  of  the  squid  when  the  boat  was  yet  a  safe 
distance  away.  One  by  one  the  arms  fell  back 
into  the  water,  as  if  from  exhaustion ;  slowly  the 
beating  of  the  tail  subsided.  After  a  time  all 
sound  and  motion  ceased.  The  boys  waited  for 
some  further  sign  of  life,  but  none  came.  The 
squid  was  still,  as  if  dead. 

"  Sure,  he's  dead  now,"  said  Billy.  "  Leave 
us  pull  close  up." 

"  Oh,  no,  b'y  !     He's  but  makin'  believe." 

But  Billy  thought  otherwise.  "I  wants  that 
squid,"  he  said,  in  a  dogged  way,  "and  I'm 
goin'  to  have  him.  I'll  sell  him  and  get  a  new 
punt." 

Bobby  protested  in  vain.  Nothing  would  con- 
tent Billy  Topsail  but  the  possession  of  the  big 
squid's  body.  Bobby  pointed  out  that  if  the 
long,  powerful  arms  were  once  laid  on  the  boat 
there  would  be  no  escape.  He  recalled  to  Billy 
the  harbour  story  of  the  horrible  death  of  Zach- 
ariah  North,  who,  as  report  said,  had  been  pur- 
sued, captured  and  pulled  under  water  by  a 
devil-fish  in  Gander  Bay.1 

1  Stories  of  this  kind,  of  which  there  are  many,  are  doubted  by 
the  authorities,  who  have  found  it  impossible  to  authenticate  a  single 
instance  of  unprovoked  attack. 


38     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

It  was  all  to  no  purpose,  however,  for  Billy 
obstinately  declared  that  he  would  make  sure  of 
the  squid  before  the  tide  turned.  He  admitted  a 
slight  risk,  but  he  wanted  a  new  punt,  and  he 
was  willing  to  risk  something  to  obtain  it. 

He  proposed  to  put  Bobby  ashore,  and  ap- 
proach the  squid  alone  ;  but  Bobby  would  not 
listen.  Two  hands  might  be  needed  in  the  boat, 
he  said.  What  if  the  squid  were  alive,  after  all  ? 
What  if  it  laid  hold  of  the  punt  ?  In  that  event, 
two  hands  would  surely  be  needed. 

"  I'll  go,"  he  said.  "  But  leave  us  pull  slow. 
And  if  we  sees  so  much  as  a  wink  of  his  eye  we'll 
pull  away." 

They  rowed  nearer,  with  great  caution.  Billy 
was  in  the  bow  of  the  boat.  It  was  he  who  had 
the  axe.  Bobby,  seated  amidships,  faced  the  bow. 
It  was  he  who  did  the  rowing. 

The  squid  was  quiet.  There  was  not  a  sign 
of  life  about  it.  Billy  estimated  the  length  of  its 
body,  from  the  beak  to  the  point  of  the  tail,  as 
twenty  feet,  the  circumference  as  "  the  size  of  a 
hogshead."  Its  tentacular  arms,  he  determined, 
must  be  at  least  thirty-five  feet  long  ;  and  when 
the  boat  came  within  that  distance  he  shud- 
dered. 


A  BLOW  WITH  AN  AXE  39 

"  Is  you  sure  he's  dead  ?  "  Bobby  whispered, 
weakly. 

"  I  don't  know !  "  Billy  answered,  in  a  gasp. 
"  I  thinks  so." 

Bobby  dropped  the  oars  and  stepped  to  the 
bow  of  the  punt.  The  boat  lost  way  and  came 
to  a  stop  within  twenty  feet  of  the  squid.  Still 
there  was  no  sign  of  life. 

The  boys  stared  at  the  great,  still  body,  lying 
quiet  in  the  gathering  dusk  and  haze.  Neither 
seemed  to  feel  the  slight  trembling  of  the  boat 
that  might  have  warned  them.  Not  a  word  was 
spoken  until  Billy,  in  a  whisper,  directed  Bobby 
to  pull  the  boat  a  few  feet  nearer. 

"  But  we're  movin'  already,"  he  added,  in  a 
puzzled  way. 

The  boat  was  very  slowly  approaching  the 
squid.  The  motion  was  hardly  perceptible,  but 
it  was  real. 

"'Tis  queer!"  said  Bobby. 

He  turned  to  take  up  the  oars.  What  he  saw 
lying  over  the  port  gunwale  of  the  boat  made 
him  gasp,  grip  Billy's  wrist  and  utter  a  scream 
of  terror ! 

"  We're  cotched!" 

The  squid  had  fastened  one  of  its  tentacles  to 


40     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

the  punt.  The  other  was  poised  above  the  stern, 
ready  to  fall  and  fix  its  suckers.  The  onward 
movement  of  the  punt  was  explained. 

Billy  knew  the  danger,  but  he  was  not  so  terri- 
fied as  to  be  incapable  of  action.  He  was  about 
to  spring  to  the  stern  to  strike  ofl  the  tentacle 
that  already  lay  over  the  gunwale ;  but  as  he 
looked  down  to  choose  his  step  he  saw  that  one 
of  the  eight  powerful  arms  was  slowly  creeping 
over  the  starboard  bow. 

He  struck  at  that  arm  with  all  his  might, 
missed,  wrenched  the  axe  from  the  gunwale,  and 
struck  true.  The  mutilated  arm  was  withdrawn. 
Billy  leaped  to  the  stern,  vaguely  conscious  in 
passing  that  another  arm  was  creeping  from  the 
water.  He  severed  the  first  tentacle  with  one 
blow.  When  he  turned  to  strike  the  second  it 
had  disappeared ;  so,  too,  had  the  second  arm. 
The  boat  seemed  to  be  free,  but  it  was  still  within 
grasp. 

In  the  meantime  the  squid  had  awakened  to 
furious  activity.  It  was  lashing  the  water  with 
arms  and  tail,  angrily  snapping  its  great  beak 
and  ejecting  streams  of  black  water  from  its 
siphon-tube.  The  water  was  violently  agitated 
and  covered  with  a  black  froth. 


A  BLOW  WITH  AN  AXE  41 

In  this  the  creature  manifested  fear  and  dis- 
tress. Had  it  not  been  aground  it  would  have 
backed  swiftly  into  the  deep  water  of  the  basin. 
But,  as  if  finding  itself  at  bay,  it  lifted  its  unin- 
jured tentacle  high  above  the  boat.  Billy  made 
ready  to  strike. 

By  this  time  Bobby  had  mastered  his  terror. 
While  Billy  stood  with  uplifted  axe,  his  eyes  fixed 
on  the  waving  tentacle  overhead,  Billy  heaved 
mightily  on  the  oars.  The  boat  slowly  drew  away 
from  that  highly  dangerous  neighbourhood.  In 
a  moment  it  was  beyond  reach  of  the  arms,  but 
still,  apparently,  within  reach  of  the  tentacle. 
The  tentacle  was  withdrawn  a  short  distance ; 
then  like  a  flash  it  shot  towards  the  boat,  writh- 
ing as  it  came. 

Billy  struck  blindly — and  struck  nothing.  The 
tentacle  had  fallen  short.  The  boat  was  out  of 
danger ! 

But  still  Billy  Topsail  was  determined  to  have 
the  body  of  the  squid.  Notwithstanding  Bobby's 
pleading  and  protestation,  he  would  not  abandon 
his  purpose.  He  was  only  the  more  grimly  bent 
on  achieving  it.  Bobby  would  not  hear  of  again 
approaching  nearer  than  the  boat  then  floated, 


42     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

nor  did  Billy  think  it  advisable.  But  it  occurred 
to  Bobby  that  they  might  land,  and  approach 
the  squid  from  behind.  If  they  could  draw  near 
enough,  he  said,  they  could  cast  the  grapnel  on 
the  squid's  back,  and  moor  it  to  a  tree  ashore. 

"  Sure,"  he  said,  excitedly,  "  you  can  pick  up 
a  squid  from  behind,  and  it  can't  touch  you  with 
its  arms  I  It  won't  be  able  to  see  us,  and  it  won't 
be  able  to  reach  us." 

So  they  landed.  Billy  carried  the  grapnel, 
which  was  attached  to  twelve  fathoms  of  line. 
It  had  six  prongs,  and  each  prong  was  barbed. 

A  low  cliff  at  the  edge  of  the  tickle  favoured 
the  plan.  The  squid  lay  below,  and  some  twenty 
feet  out  from  the  rock.  It  was  merely  a  ques- 
tion of  whether  or  not  Billy  was  strong  enough 
to  throw  the  grapnel  so  far.  They  tied  the  end 
of  the  line  to  a  stout  shrub.  Billy  cast  the  grap- 
nel, and  it  was  a  strong,  true  cast.  The  iron  fell 
fair  on  the  squid's  back.  It  was  a  capture. 

"That  means  a  new  punt  for  me,"  said  Billy, 
quietly.  "The  tide'll  not  carry  that  devil-fish 
away." 

"  And  now,"  Bobby  pleaded,  "  leave  us  make 
haste  home,  for  'tis  growin'  wonderful  dark — and 
— and  there  might  be  another  somewhere." 


A  BLOW  WITH  AN  AXE  43 

So  that  is  how  one  of  the  largest  specimens  of 
Architeuthis  princeps — enumerated  in  Prof.  John 
Adam  Wright's  latest  monograph  on  the  cepha- 
lopods  of  North  America  as  the  "  Chain  Tickle 
specimen" — was  captured.  And  that  is  how 
Billy  Topsail  fairly  won  a  new  punt ;  for  when 
Doctor  Marvey,  the  curator  of  the  Public  Mu- 
seum at  St.  John's — who  is  deeply  interested  in 
the  study  of  the  giant  squids — came  to  Ruddy 
Cove  to  make  photographs  and  take  measure- 
ments, in  response  to  a  message  from  Billy's 
father,  he  rewarded  the  lad. 


CHAPTER  V 

On  the  Face  of  the  Cliff :  Wherein  Billy  Topsail 
Gets  Lost  in  a  Perilous  Place  and  Sits  Down  to 
Recover  His  Composure 

IN  summer,  when  there  chanced  to  be  no  fish, 
or  when  no  bait  was  to  be  had,  and  the  fish 
were  not  to  be  jigged,  Billy  Topsail  had  idle 
time,  which  he  was  not  slow  to  improve  for  his 
own   amusement.     Often   he   wandered  on   the 
cliffs  and  heads  near  the  harbour — not  always  for 
gulls'  eggs  :  sometimes  for  sheer  love  of  the  sky 
and  space  and  sunlit  air.     Once,  being  bound  for 
Breakheart  Head,  to  watch  the  waves  beat  on 
the  rocks  below,  he  came  across  old  Arch  Butt. 

"  Wonderful  sea  outside,"  said  the  old  fisher 
man.     "Wonderful    sea,    Billy.     'Tis   as  big  a 
tumble  as  ever  I  seed  stirred  up  in  a  night." 

"An'  you'll  not  be  takin'  the  punt  t'  the 
grounds  ?  "  Billy  asked,  in  surprise. 

"  I'm  not  able,  lad.  Tis  too  much  for  any 
paddle-punt.  Sure,  the  sea's  breakin'  right 
across  the  tickle.  'Tis  so  much  as  a  man's  life  is 
worth  t'  try  t'  run  out." 

"  Isn't  you  got  a  salmon  net  off  Shag  Rock  ? " 


ON  THE  FACE  OF  THE  CLIFF       45 

"  I  is  that,"  Arch  answered  ;  "  an'  I'm  wantin* 
bad  t'  get  to  it.  'Tis  set  off  the  point  of  Shag 
Rock,  an'  I'm  thinkin'  the  sea  will  wreck  it,  for 
'tis  a  wonderful  tumble,  indeed.  'Tis  like  I'll  not 
be  able  t'  get  out  afore  to-morrow  mornin',  but 
I'm  hopin'  I  will/' 

"  An'  I  hopes  you  may,  Skipper  Arch,"  said 
Billy. 

It  was  a  fine  wish,  born  of  the  fresh  breeze  and 
brightness  of  the  day — a  word  let  drop  from  a 
heart  full  of  good  feeling  for  all  the  world  :  noth- 
ing more.  Yet  within  a  few  hours  Billy  Topsail's 
life  hung  upon  the  possibility  of  its  fulfillment. 

"  Ay,"  he  repeated,  "  I  hopes  you  may." 

Billy  Topsail  followed  the  rocky  road  to  the 
Bath  Tub,  climbed  the  Lookout,  and  descended 
the  rough  declivity  beyond  to  the  edge  of  the 
sea,  meanwhile  lifted  to  a  joyous  mood  by  the 
sunlight  and  wind  and  cloudless  sky.  Indeed, 
he  was  not  sorry  he  had  come ;  the  grim  cliffs 
and  the  jagged  masses  of  rock  lying  at  their 
feet — the  thunder  and  froth  where  sea  met  rock — 
the  breaking,  flashing  water  to  seaward  ;  all  this 
delighted  him  then,  and  were  not  soon  forgotten. 
Best  of  all,  the  third  submerged  rock  off  Shag 
Cliff — the  rock  they  call  the  Tombstone — was 


46     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

breaking ;  the  greater  waves  there  leaped  into 
the  air  in  fountains  of  froth. 

"I  'low  I'll  get  closer  t'  the  Tombstone/' 
thought  he. 

Thus  he  was  led  along  the  coast  to  the  foot  of 
Shag  Cliff.  It  was  a  hard  climb,  in  which  hands 
and  feet  were  both  concerned.  There  were 
chasms  to  leap,  sharp  points  to  round,  great 
rocks  to  scale,  narrow  ledges  to  pass  over  on  the 
toes  of  his  boots  ;  and  all  the  while  the  breakers 
were  crashing  and  foaming  below  him,  and  now 
and  again  splashing  him  with  spray. 

Had  the  day  been  drear,  it  may  be  he  would 
not  have  ventured  so  far ;  but  the  sun  was  out. 
the  day  long,  the  gulls  quietly  soaring  over  the 
sea,  and  on  he  went,  giving  no  thought  whatever 
to  his  return. 

Once  under  the  cliff,  he  ventured  farther.  De- 
tached from  it,  there  lies  Nanny's  Rock,  which 
must  long  ago  have  fallen  from  above ;  the 
breakers  surrounded  but  did  not  sweep  it  when 
they  rose  and  broke. 

His  wish  to  lie  there  in  the  sunshine,  with  the 
blue  sky  above  him  and  the  noise  of  the  water  in 
his  ears,  led  him  to  dash  across  the  dripping 
space  between  when  the  wave  fell  back,  even 


ON  THE  FACE  OF  THE  CLIFF       47 

though  he  must  scramble  out  of  the  way  of  the 
returning  water. 

In  a  few  minutes  he  was  deep  in  an  enchant- 
ing day-dream,  which,  to  his  subsequent  peril, 
soon  changed  to  sleep. 

The  tide  was  rising.  A  few  drops  of  spray, 
falling  upon  his  face  from  a  great  breaker,  awoke 
him.  On  the  instant  he  was  wide  awake  and 
looking  desperately  about.  Then  he  laughed  to 
think  that  the  breakers  were  reaching  for  him — 
that  they  would  have  had  him  fast  in  the  trap 
had  he  slept  much  longer ;  for,  in  a  glance,  he 
thought  he  had  made  sure  that  his  escape  from 
the  rock  was  not  yet  cut  off.  But  his  laugh  was 
touched  with  some  embarrassment  when  he  found, 
upon  trial,  that  the  sea  had  blocked  the  path  by 
which  he  had  reached  the  foot  of  Shag  Cliff. 

"  I  must  go  'tother  way,"  he  thought. 

There  was  no  other  way ;  to  right  and  to  left 
the  sea  was  breaking  against  overhanging  juts 
of  rock.  He  could  pass  from  jut  to  jut,  but  he 
could  round  neither. 

"  Sure,  I'll  be  late  for  dinner,"  he  thought ;  "an* 
dad  won't  like  it." 

It  was  all  very  well  to  exclaim  vexatiously, 
but  he  was  forced  to  abandon  the  hope  of  return- 


48     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

ing  by  way  of  the  foot  of  the  cliffs.  The  tide  had 
cut  him  off. 

"  I'll  scale  Shag  Cliff,"  he  determined. 

He  was  not  alarmed ;  the  situation  was  awk- 
ward, but  it  promised  the  excitement  of  an  adven- 
ture, and  for  a  time  he  was  rather  glad  that  he 
had  fallen  asleep.  To  scale  the  two  hundred 
feet  of  Shag  Cliff — that  was  something  to 
achieve!  His  father  would  say  that  he  was 
"  narvy,"  and  forget  that  he  had  kept  him  from 
his  dinner.  Scale  Shag  Cliff,  by  all  means ! 

He  knew  well  enough  that  he  had  but  to  seek 
higher  ground  and  wait  for  the  tide  to  fall,  if  he 
wanted  an  unexciting  return ;  but  it  pleased  him 
to  make  believe  that  his  situation  was  desperate 
— that  the  rising  water  would  overwhelm  him  if 
he  did  not  escape  over  the  brow  of  the  cliff :  an 
indulgence  which  his  imagination  did  not  need 
half  an  hour  later.  When  he  looked  up,  how- 
ever, to  choose  a  path  of  ascent,  he  found  that, 
from  where  he  stood,  close  against  the  cliff  at  the 
base,  there  seemed  to  be  no  path  at  all. 

"  I  'low  I'll  have  t'  go  back  t'  Nanny's  Rock 
for  a  better  squint,"  he  told  himself, 

Back  to  Nanny's  Rock  he  went,  at  no  small 
risk,  for  the  occasional  flow  of  foam,  which  had 


ON  THE  FACE  OF  THE  CLIFF       49 

cut  it  off  from  the  mainland  when  first  he  crossed, 
had  swollen  to  a  strait  of  some  depth  and 
strength.  He  must  make  the  leap,  but  he  dreaded 
it.  There  was  a  moment  of  terror  when  his  foot 
slipped,  and  he  came  near  falling  back  into  the 
very  claws  of  the  breaker  which  followed  him ; 
on  that  account,  perhaps,  his  survey  of  the  face 
of  the  cliff  was  a  hurried  one,  and  his  return  to 
safe  ground  precipitate  and  somewhat  flurried. 

He  had  seen  enough,  however,  to  persuade 
him  that  the  ascent  would  be  comparatively  easy 
for  at  least  a  hundred  feet,  and  that,  for  the  rest 
of  the  way,  it  would  not,  probably,  be  much  more 
difficult 

In  point  of  fact,  he  knew  nothing  whatever  of 
what  lay  beyond  the  first  hundred  feet.  But  the 
element  of  probability,  or  rather  improbability, 
did  not  disconcert  him.  He  could  at  least  make 
a  start. 

If  you  have  ever  climbed  about  a  rocky  sea- 
cost,  you  will  know  that  an  ascent  may  be  com- 
paratively simple  where  a  descent  is  quite  im- 
practicable ;  you  will  know  that  the  unwary  may 
of  a  sudden  reach  a  point  where  to  continue  the 
climb  is  a  nauseating  necessity.  There  are  times 
when  one  regrets  the  courage  that  led  him  into 


50     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

his  difficulty — the  courage  or  the  carelessness,  as 
the  case  may  be. 

Experience  had  long  ago  taught  Billy  Topsail 
that ;  but  the  lesson  had  not  been  severe — there 
had  been  no  gulf  behind  him  ;  the  whip  of  life  or 
death  had  not  urged  him  on.  Indeed,  he  had 
never  attempted  a  climb  of  such  height  and  ugly 
possibilities  in  the  way  of  blind  leads  as  Shag 
Cliff,  else  possibly  he  should  not  have  made  the 
start  with  a  sense  of  adventure  so  inspiring. 

Up  he  went — up  and  still  up,  his  cheeks  glow 
ing,  his  nerves  pleasurably  tingling  1  Up — up 
and  still  up,  until  he  could  hear  the  whiz  of  gulls1 
wings  near  him,  and  the  feeling  of  space  below 
began  to  try  his  nerves.  At  last  he  stopped  to 
rest  and  look  about.  Down  deep  lay  the 
breakers,  so  far  off,  it  seemed,  that  he  marvelled 
he  could  hear  the  roar  and  crash  so  distinctly. 

"An'  they  says  'tis  a  hundred  feet  1 "  thought 
he.  "  Hut !  'Tis  two  hundred  if  'tis  an  inch. 
An'  I  isn't  but  half  way  up  1 " 

Beyond  that  point  his  difficulties  began.  The 
cliff  was  bolder  ;  it  was  almost  bare  of  those  little 
ledges  and  crevices  and  projections  upon  which 
the  cliff-climber  depends  for  handhold  and  foot- 
hold. Moreover,  the  path  was  interrupted  from 


ON  THE  FACE  OF  THE  CLIFF       51 

time  to  time  by  sheer  or  overhanging  rock. 
When  he  came  to  these  impassable  places,  of 
course,  he  turned  to  right  or  left,  content  with  his 
progress  if  only  he  mounted  higher  and  higher. 
Thus  he  strayed  far  off  the  path  he  had  picked 
out  from  Nanny's  Rock ;  indeed,  he  was  climbing 
blindly,  a  thoughtless  course,  for — had  he  but 
stopped  to  think — there  was  no  knowing  that  the 
cliff  did  not  overhang  at  the  end  of  the  way  he 
had  taken. 

Meanwhile,  time  was  passing.  He  had  climbed 
with  such  caution,  retraced  his  steps,  changed  his 
course  so  often  that  noon  was  long  past.  So 
when  next  he  came  to  a  roomy  ledge  he  sat  down 
to  rest  before  proceeding  farther. 

"  Wonderful  queer !  "  he  thought,  after  a  look 
about.  "  But  where  is  I  ?  " 

It  was  a  puzzling  question.  The  cliff,  project- 
ing below  him,  cut  off  his  view  of  the  breakers  ; 
and  the  rock  above,  which  came  to  an  end  in 
blue  sky,  was  of  course  unfamiliar.  At  what 
part  of  Shag  Rock  he  then  was  he  could  not  tell. 


CHAPTER  VI 

In  Which  Billy  Topsail  Loses  His  Nerve. 
Wherein,  also,  the  Wings  of  Gulls  Seem  to 
Brush  Past 

"\\  TONDERFUL  queer!"  thought  Billy 
^V  Topsail.  "  Lost  on  a  cliff !  'Tis  the 
queerest  thing  I  ever  knowed." 

But  that  was  Billy's  case. 

"  I  'low,"  he  concluded,  at  last,  "  that  I'd  bet- 
ter be  goin'  up  instead  o'  down." 

It  did  not  appear  that  he  would  be  unable  to 
go  down ;  the  way  up  was  the  shorter  way,  that 
was  all.  Nevertheless,  his  feeling  of  security  was 
pretty  well  shaken  when  he  again  began  to 
climb.  His  grip  was  tighter,  his  shrinking  from 
the  depths  stronger  and  more  frequent ;  in  fact, 
he  hugged  the  rock  more  than  was  good  for  him. 

He  knew  the  symptom  for  an  alarming  one — 
it  turned  him  faint  when  first  he  recognized  it— 
and  he  tried  to  fix  his  attention  upon  the  effort 
to  climb  higher.  But  now  and  again  the  fear  of 
the  space  behind  and  below  would  creep  in. 
Reason  told  him  that  the  better  part  was  to  re- 

52 


BILLY  LOSES  HIS  NERVE  53 

turn ;  but  he  was  in  no  condition  to  listen  to  rea- 
son. His  whole  desire — it  was  fast  becoming 
frantic — was  to  crawl  over  the  brow  of  the  cliff 
and  be  safe. 

But  where  was  the  brow  of  the  cliff?  It 
seemed  to  him  that  he  had  climbed  a  thousand 
feet. 

A  few  minutes  later  he  caught  sight  of  a 
shrub ;  then  he  knew  that  he  was  within  a  few 
feet  of  the  end  of  the  climb.  The  shrub — a 
stunted  spruce,  which  he  had  good  reason  to  re- 
member— was  to  his  right,  peeping  round  a  pro- 
jection of  rock. 

He  was  then  on  a  ledge,  with  good  foothold 
and  good  handhold  ;  and  a  way  of  return  to  the 
shore  lay  open  to  him.  By  craning  his  neck  he 
made  out  that  if  he  could  pass  that  projection  he 
would  reach  shelving,  broken  rock,  and  be  safe. 
Then  he  studied  the  face  of  the  rocks  between — 
a  space  of  some  six  feet. 

There  was  foothold  there,  midway,  but  he 
shrank  from  attempting  to  reach  it.  He  had 
never  thought  in  his  life  to  try  so  perilous  a  pas- 
sage. A  survey  of  the  course  of  a  body  falling 
from  that  point  was  almost  more  than  he  could 
support.  Nevertheless,  strange  as  it  may  seem, 


54     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

the  waving  shrub  tempted  him  to  risk  some- 
thing more  to  end  his  suspense.  He  summoned 
courage  enough  to  stretch  out  his  right  foot  and 
search  with  his  right  hand  for  a  hold. 

Unfortunately,  he  found  both — a  ledge  for  his 
foot  and  a  crevice  for  his  fingers. 

He  drew  himself  over.  It  took  courage  and 
strength,  for  it  was  a  long  stretch.  Had  he  been 
cramped  for  room,  had  he  not  been  free  to  move 
at  the  starting-point,  he  could  not  have  managed 
it.  But  there  he  was — both  feet  on  a  ledge  as 
wide  as  his  feet  were  long,  both  hands  with  a 
comfortable  grip  on  solid  rock.  He  shuffled 
along  until  he  came  to  the  end  of  the  ledge. 

His  last  obstacle  now  lay  before  him.  He 
must  round  the  projection  which  divided  him 
from  the  broken,  shelving  rock  beyond.  Had 
he  foreseen  the  slightest  difficulty  he  would  not 
have  gone  so  far.  So,  with  confidence,  he 
sought  a  foothold  for  his  right  foot — a  crevice 
for  the  fingers  of  his  right  hand. 

And  he  tried  again,  with  confidence  unshaken ; 
again,  with  patience ;  again,  with  rising  fear. 
There  was  no  hold ;  the  passage  was  impracti- 
cable. There  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  return. 

So  he  shuffled  back  to  the  other  end  of  the 


BILLY  LOSES  HIS  NERVE          -55 

ledge.  Then,  keenly  regretting  the  necessity  of 
return,  he  sought  a  foothold  for  his  left  foot — a 
crevice  for  the  fingers  of  his  left  hand.  He  tried 
again,  in  some  wonder ;  again,  with  a  rush  of 
fear ;  again,  in  abject  terror. 

To  his  horror,  he  found  that  he  could  not  re- 
turn. From  the  narrow  ledge  it  was  impossible 
to  pass  to  the  wider,  although  it  had  been  possi- 
ble to  pass  from  the  wider  to  the  narrow.  For 
an  instant  he  was  on  the  point  of  toppling  back ; 
but  he  let  his  body  fall  forward  against  the  face 
of  the  cliff,  and  there  he  rested,  gripping  the 
rock  with  both  hands  until  the  faintness  passed. 

The  situation  was  quite  plain  to  him.  He  was 
standing  on  a  ledge,  as  wide  as  his  feet  were 
long,  some  two  or  three  hundred  feet  above  the 
sea ;  his  face  was  to  the  cliff,  and  he  could 
neither  sit  down  nor  turn  round.  There  he  must 
stand  until — who  could  tell  ?  In  what  way  could 
relief  come  to  him?  Who  was  to  see?  Who 
could  hear  his  cries  for  help?  No  fishermen 
were  on  the  grounds — no  punts  were  out  of  the 
harbour;  the  sea  was  too  high  for  that,  as  he 
had  been  told. 

There  was  only  one  answer  to  his  question, 
He  must  stand  until — he  fell. 


56     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"Yes,'  he  was  courageous  enough  to  admit 
calmly,  "  I  'low  I  got  t'  go." 

That  once  admitted,  his  terror  of  that  space 
behind  and  below  in  some  measure  departed. 
The  sun  was  still  shining ;  the  sky — as  he  knew, 
for  he  could  catch  a  glimpse  of  it  on  each  side — 
was  still  blue.  But  soon  he  began  to  think  of 
the  night ;  then  his  terror  returned — not  of  the 
present  moment,  but  of  the  hours  of  darkness 
approaching. 

Could  he  endure  until  night?  He  thought 
not.  His  position  was  awkward.  Surely  his 
strength  would  wear  out — his  hands  weaken,  al- 
though the  strain  upon  them  was  slight ;  his  legs 
give  way. 

Of  course  he  followed  the  natural  impulse  to 
cling  to  his  life  as  long  as  he  could.  Thus, 
while  the  afternoon  dragged  along  and  the  dusk 
approached,  he  stood  on  the  face  of  the  cliff, 
waiting  for  the  moment  when  his  weakening 
strength  would  fail  and  he  would  fall  to  his 
death. 

"  In  an  hour,"  he  thought ;  soon  it  was,  "  In 
half  an  hour." 

Before  that  last  half-hour  had  passed  he  felt 
something  brush  past  his  back.  It  frightened 


BILLY  LOSES  HIS  NERVE  57 

him.  What  was  it?  Again  he  felt  it.  Again  it 
startled  and  frightened  him.  Then  he  felt  it  no 
more  for  a  time,  and  he  was  glad  of  that.  He 
was  too  dull,  perhaps,  to  dwell  upon  the  mystery 
of  that  touch.  It  passed  from  his  mind.  Soon 
he  felt  it  for  the  third  time.  Was  it  a  wing? 
He  wondered,  too,  if  he  had  not  heard  a  voice ;  for 
it  seemed  to  him  that  some  one  had  hailed  him. 

When  next  he  heard  the  sound,  he  knew  that 
his  name  had  been  called.  He  looked  up.  A 
rope  was  hanging  over  the  brow  of  the  cliffr 
sweeping  slowly  towards  him.  He  could  see  it, 
although  the  light  was  failing.  When  it  came 
near  he  extended  his  right  hand  behind  him  and 
caught  it,  then  gave  it  a  tug,  in  signal  to  those 
above  that  the  search  was  ended.  Painfully, 
slowly,  for  his  situation  was  none  too  secure,  he 
encircled  his  waist  with  that  stout  rope,  lashed  it 
fast,  shouted,  "  Haul  away ! "  and  fainted. 

When  Billy  Topsail  came  to  his  senses,  it  was 
to  find  himself  lying  on  the  moss,  with  old  Arch, 
the  skipper,  leaning  over  him,  and  half  a  dozen 
fishermen  gathered  round. 

"So  you  did  get  out  to  the  salmon  net?"  he 
muttered. 


58     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"Aye,"  said  Arch;  " 'twas  I  that  seed  you 
hangin'  there.  Sure,  if  I  hadn't  had  my  net  set 
off  Shag  Rock,  and  if  I  hadn't  got  through  the 
tickle  to  see  if  'twas  all  right,  and  if " 

Billy  shuddered. 


CHAPTER  VII 

In  Which  Billy  Topsail  Hears  the  Fur  Trader9 & 
Story  of  a  Jigger  and  a  Cake  of  Ice  in  the 
Wind 

"  ¥  T"  TOULDN'T  think  I'd  been  born  on 
Y  V    Cherry  Hill,  would  you,  now? "said 
the  man  with  the  fur  cap. 

The  stranger  had  been  landed  at  Ruddy  Cove 
from  Fortune  Harbour.  He  had  been  in  the  far 
north,  he  said  ;  and  he  was  now  waiting  for  the 
mail-boat  to  take  him  south.  Billy  Topsail  and 
the  lads  of  Ruddy  Cove  cocked  their  ears  for  a 
yarn. 

"  Fact ! "  said  he,  with  a  nod.  "  That's  where 
I  was  born  and  bred.  And  do  you  know  how  I 
come  to  be  away  up  here?  No?  Well,  I'm  a 
fur  trader.  I'm  the  man  that  bought  the  skin  of 
that  silver  fox  last  winter  for  thirty  dollars  and 
sold  it  for  two  hundred  and  fifty.  I'd  rather  be 
the  man  that  bought  it  from  me  and  sold  it  in 
London  for  six  hundred.  But  I'm  not." 

"  And  you're  bound  for  home,  now  ?  "  the  old 
skipper  asked. 

59 


60     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"Yes,"  he  drawled.  "I'm  bound  home  for 
New  York  to  see  the  folks.  I've  been  away  six 
years,  and  came  nearer  to  leaving  my  bones  up 
here  in  the  north  last  spring  than  ever  I  did  be- 
fore. I've  done  some  travelling  in  my  time. 
You  can  take  me  at  my  word ;  I  have." 

The  trader  laughed  uproariously.  He  was  in 
a  voluble  mood.  The  old  skipper  knew  that  he 
needed  but  little  encouragement  to  tell  the  story 
of  his  escape. 

"  It  makes  me  think  about  that  old  riddle  of 
the  corked  bottle,"  he  said.  "  Ever  hear  it  ? 
This  is  it :  If  you  had  a  bottle  of  ginger  ale,  how 
would  you  get  the  stuff  out  without  breaking  the 
bottle  or  drawing  the  cork  ?  Can  you  answer 
that?" 

"The  answer  doesn't  strike  me,"  said  the 
skipper. 

"That's  just  it,"  the  trader  burst  out.  "The 
way  to  do  it  doesn't  *  strike  you.'  But  if  you  had 
the  bottle  in  your  hands  now  and  wanted  the 
ginger  ale,  it  would  *  strike '  you  fast  enough  to 
push  the  cork  in.  Well,  that  was  my  case.  You 
think  of  yourself  on  a  little  pan  of  ice,  drifting 
straight  out  to  sea  with  a  strong  offshore  wind, 
water  all  round  you  and  no  paddle — just  think 


THE  FUR-TRADER'S  STORY          61 

of  yourself  in  that  case,  and  a  way  of  getting 
ashore  might  not  *  strike '  you.  But  once  you're 
there — once  you're  right  on  that  pan  of  ice,  with 
the  hand  of  death  on  your  collar — you'll  think 
like  lightning  of  all  the  things  you  can  do.  Yes, 
that  was  my  case." 

The  listeners  said  nothing  to  interrupt  the 
stocky,  hard-featured,  ill-clad  little  man  while  he 
mused. 

1  -  '  Don't  you  be  fool  enough  to  try  to  cross  the 
bay  this  evening,'  says  I  to  myself,"  he  went  on. 

"  But  I'm  a  hundred-mile  man,  and  I'd  gone 
my  hundred  miles.  I  can  carry  grub  on  my  back 
to  last  me  just  that  far ;  and  my  grub  was  out. 
From  what  I  knew  of  winds  and  ice,  I  judged 
that  the  ice  would  be  four  or  five  miles  out  to 
sea  by  dawn  of  the  next  day.  So  I  didn't  start 
out  with  the  idea  that  the  trip  would  be  as  easy 
as  a  promenade  over  Brooklyn  Bridge  of  a  moon- 
light night.  Oh,  no  !  I  knew  what  I  was  doing. 
But  it  was  a  question  of  taking  the  risk  or  drag- 
ging myself  into  the  settlement  at  Racquet  Har' 
bour  in  three  days'  time  as  lean  as  a  car- horse 
from  starvation.  You  see,  it  was  forty  miles 
round  that  bay  and  four  across  ;  and — my  grub 
was  out.  Many  a  man  loses  his  life  in  these 


62     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

parts  by  looking  at  the  question  in  just  that 
way. 

"  '  Oh,  no  ! '  says  I  to  myself.  '  You'd  much  bet- 
ter take  your  chance  of  starving,  and  walk  round.* 

"  It  wasn't  in  human  nature,  though,  to  do  it. 
Not  when  I  knew  that  there  was  grub  and  a 
warm  fire  waiting  for  me  at  Racquet  Harbour. 
Says  I,  *  I'll  take  the  long  chance  and  stand  to 
win.'  Don't  you  run  away  with  the  idea  that  the 
ice  was  a  level  field  stretching  from  shore  to 
shore,  fitting  the  rocks,  and  kept  as  neat  as  a 
baseball  diamond.  It  wasn't.  Some  day  in  the 
winter  the  wind  had  jammed  the  bay  full  of  big 
rough  chunks — they  call  them  pans  in  this  coun- 
try— and  the  frost  had  stuck  them  all  together. 
When  the  spring  came,  of  course  the  sun  began 
to  melt  that  glue,  and  the  whole  floe  was  just 
ready  to  fall  apart  when  I  had  the  bad  luck  to 
make  the  coast.  I  was  a  day  too  late.  I  knew 
it.  And  I  knew  that  the  offshore  wind  would 
sweep  the  ice  to  sea  the  minute  it  broke  up. 

"  I  made  the  first  hundred  yards  in  ten  min- 
utes ;  the  second  in  fifteen  more.  In  half  an 
hour  I'd  made  half  a  mile.  The  ice  was  rough 
enough  and  flimsy  enough  to  take  the  nerve  out 
of  any  man.  But  that  wasn't  the  worst;  the 


JUMPED     T.IKE    A     STAG      FOR    THE    SECOND    PAN. 


THE  FUR-TRADER'S  STORY         63 

worst  was  that  there  were  hundreds  of  holes  cov- 
ered with  a  thin  crust  of  snow — all  right  to  look 
at,  but  treacherous.  I  knew  that  if  I  made  the 
mistake  of  stepping  on  a  crust  instead  of  solid  ice, 
I'd  go  through  and  down. 

"  I  had  four  otter  skins,  some  martens  and  ten 
fine  fox  skins  in  the  pack  on  my  back.  To  do 
anything  in  the  water  with  that  handicap  was  too 
much  for  me.  So  I  wasn't  at  all  particular  about 
making  time  until  I  found  that  the  night  would 
catch  me  if  I  didn't  wag  along  a  little  faster. 

"  No,  sir ! "  the  trader  said.  "  I  didn't  want  to 
be  caught  out  there  in  the  dark. 

"  By  good  luck,  I  struck  some  big  pans  about 
half-way  over.  Then  I  took  to  a  dog-trot,  and 
left  the  yards  behind  me  in  a  way  that  cheered 
me  up.  Just  before  dusk  I  got  near  enough  to 
the  other  side  to  feel  proud  of  myself,  and  I 
began  to  think  of  what  a  fool  I'd  have  been  if 
I'd  taken  the  shore  route.  A  minute  later  I 
changed  my  mind.  I  felt  the  pack  moving! 
Well,  in  a  flash  I  said  good-bye  to  Cherry  Hill 
and  the  boys.  Not  many  men  are  caught  twice 
in  a  place  like  that.  They  never  have  the  sec- 
ond chance. 

"  There  I  was,  aboard  a  rotten  floe  and  bound 


64     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

out  to  the  big,  lonely  ocean  at  the  rate  of  four 
miles  an  hour. 

"  '  Oh,  you  might  as  well  get  ready  to  go, 
Jim,'  thinks  I,  But  I  didn't  give  up.  I  loped 
along  shoreward  in  a  way  that  didn't  take  snow 
crust  or  air-holes  into  account.  And  I  made  the 
edge  of  the  floe  before  the  black  hours  of  the 
night  had  come. 

"  There  was  a  couple  of  hundred  yards  of  cold 
water  between  me  and  the  shore, 

"  'This  is  the  time  you  think  more  of  your  life 
than  your  fur/  thinks  I. 

"There  was  a  stray  pan  or  two — little  rafts  of 
things — lying  off  the  edge  of  the  floe ;  and  be- 
yond them,  scattered  between  the  shore  and  me, 
half  a  dozen  other  pans  were  floating.  How  to 
get  from  one  to  the  other  was  the  puzzle.  They 
were  fifty  or  sixty  yards  apart,  most  of  them,  and 
I  had  no  paddle.  It  was  foolish  to  think  of  mak- 
ing a  shift  with  my  jacket  for  a  sail ;  the  wind 
was  out,  not  in,  and  I  had  no  rudder. 

"  What  had  I  ?  Nothing  that  I  could  think  of. 
It  didn't  strike  me,  as  you  say.  I  wish  it  had. 

" '  Anyhow/  says  I  to  myself,  '  I'll  get  as  far  as 
I  can/ 

"  It  was  a  short  leap  from  the  floe  to  the  first 


THE  FUR-TRADER'S  STORY         65 

pan.  I  made  it  easily.  The  second  pan  was 
farther  off,  but  I  thought  I  could  jump  the  water 
between*  So  I  took  off  my  pack  and  threw  it  on 
the  ice  beside  me.  It  almost  broke  my  heart  to 
do  it,  for  I'd  walked  five  hundred  miles  in  the 
dead  of  winter  for  that  fur;  I'd  been  nearly 
starved  and  frozen,  and  I'd  paid  out  hard-earned 
money.  I  put  down  my  pack,  took  a  short  run, 
and  jumped  like  a  stag  for  the  second  pan. 

"  I  landed  on  the  spot  I'd  picked  out.  I  can't 
complain  of  missing  the  mark,  but  instead  of 
stopping  there,  I  shot  clear  through  and  down 
into  the  water. 

"Surprised?  I  was  worse  than  that.  I  was 
dead  scared.  For  a  minute  I  thought  I  was 
going  to  rise  tinder  the  ice  and  drown  right  there. 

"  How  it  happened  I  don't  know  ;  but  I  came 
up  between  the  pans,  and  struck  out  for  the  one 
I'd  left.  I  got  to  the  pan,  all  right,  and  climbed 
aboard.  There  I  was,  on  a  little  pan  of  ice,  be- 
yond reach  of  the  floe  and  leaving  the  shore  be- 
hind me,  and  cold  and  pretty  well  discouraged. 

"There's  the  riddle  of  the  corked  bottle,"  said 
the  trader,  interrupting  his  narrative.  "Now 
how  do  I  happen  to  be  sitting  here?" 

"  I'm  sure  I  can't  tell,"  said  the  skipper. 


66     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"No  more  you  should,"  said  he,  "for  you 
don't  know  what  I  carried  in  my  pack.  But 
you  see  I  had  the  bottle  in  my  hands,  and  I 
wanted  the  ginger  ale  bad ;  so  I  thought  feist  and 
hard. 

"  It  struck  me  that  I  might  do  something  with 
my  line  and  jigger.1  Don't  you  see  the  chance 
the  barbed  steel  hooks  and  the  forty  fathom  of 
line  gave  me  ?  When  I  thought  of  that  jigger 
I  felt  just  like  the  man  who  is  told  to  push  the 
cork  in  when  he  can't  draw  it  out.  I'd  got  back 
to  the  pan  where  I'd  thrown  down  my  pack,  you 
know  ;  so  there  was  the  jigger,  right  at  hand. 

"It  was  getting  dark  by  this  time — getting 
dark  fast,  and  the  pans  were  drifting  farther  and 
farther  apart. 

"It  was  easy  to  hook  the  jigger  in  the  nearest 
pan  and  draw  my  pan  over  to  it ;  for  that  pan 
was  five  times  the  weight  of  the  one  I  was  on. 
The  one  beyond  was  about  the  same  size ;  they 
came  together  at  the  half-way  point.  Of  course 
this  took  time.  I  could  hardly  see  the  shore 
then,  and  it  struck  me  that  I  might  not  be  able 

1 A  jigger  is  a  lead  fish,  about  three  inches  long,  which  spreads 
into  two  large  barbed  hooks  at  one  end ;  the  other  end  is  attached  to 
about  forty  fathoms  of  stout  line.  Jiggers  are  used  to  jerk  fish  from 
the  water  where  there  is  no  bait. 


THE  FUR-TRADER'S  STORY          67 

to  find  it  at  all,  when  I  came  near  enough  to  cast 
my  jigger  for  it 

"  About  fifty  yards  off  was  a  big  pan.  I  swung 
the  jigger  round  and  round  and  suddenly  let  the 
line  shoot  through  my  fingers.  When  I  hauled 
it  in  the  jigger  came  too,  for  it  hadn't  taken  hold. 
That  made  me  feel  bad.  I  felt  worse  when  it 
came  back  the  second  time.  But  I'm  not  one  of 
the  kind  that  gives  up.  I  kept  right  on  casting 
that  jigger  until  it  landed  in  the  right  spot. 

"  My  pan  crossed  over  as  I  hauled  in  the  line. 
That  was  all  right ;  but  there  was  no  pan  between 
me  and  the  shore. 

"  '  All  up  I '  thinks  I. 

"It  was  dark.  I  could  see  neither  pan  nor 
shore.  Before  long  I  couldn't  see  a  thing  in  the 
pitchy  blackness. 

"  All  the  time  I  could  feel  the  pan  humping 
along  towards  the  open  sea.  I  didn't  know  how 
far  off  the  shore  was.  I  was  in  doubt  about  just 
where  it  was. 

"  *  Is  this  pan  turning  round  ? '  thinks  I.    Well, 

I  couldn't  tell ;  but  I  thought  I'd  take  a  flier  at 

hooking  a  rock  or  a  tree  with  the  jigger. 

"  The  jigger  didn't  take  hold.     I  tried  a  dozen 

times,  and  every  time  I  heard  it  splash  the  water 


68     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

But  I  kept  on  trying — and  would  have  kept 
on  till  morning  if  I'd  needed  to.  You  can  take 
me  at  my  word,  I'm  not  the  kind  of  fool  that 
gives  up  —  I've  been  in  too  many  tight  places 
for  that.  So,  at  last,  I  gave  the  jigger  a  fling 
that  landed  it  somewhere  where  it  held  fast ;  but 
whether  ice  or  shore  I  couldn't  tell.  If  shore,  all 
right ;  if  ice,  all  wrong ;  and  that's  all  I  could  do 
about  it. 

"  *  Now,'  thinks  I,  as  I  began  to  haul  in,  '  it  all 
depends  on  the  fishing  line.  Will  it  break,  or 
won't  it  ? ' 

"It  didn't.  So  the  next  morning,  with  my 
pack  on  my  back,  I  tramped  round  the  point  to 
Racquet  Harbour." 

"  What  was  it  ? "  was  Billy  Topsail's  foolish 
question.  "  Shore  or  ice  ?  " 

"  If  it  hadn't  been  shore,"  said  the  trader,  "  I 
wouldn't  be  here." 


CHAPTER  VIII 

In  the  Offshore  Gale:  In  Which  Billy  Topsail 
Goes  Seal  Hunting  and  is  Swept  to  Sea  With 
the  Floe 

WHAT  befell  old  Tom  Topsail  and  his 
crew  came  in  the  course  of  the  day's 
work.  Fishermen  and  seal-hunters, 
such  as  the  folk  of  Ruddy  Cove,  may  not  wait 
for  favourable  weather ;  when  the  fish  are  run- 
ning, they  must  fish  ;  when  the  seals  are  on  the 
drift-ice  offshore  in  the  spring,  they  must  hunt. 

So  on  that  lowering  day,  when  the  seals  were 
sighted  by  the  watch  on  Lookout  Head,  it  was  a 
mere  matter  of  course  that  the  men  of  the  place 
should  set  out  to  the  hunt. 

"  I  s'pose,"  Tom  Topsail  drawled,  "  that  we'd 
best  get  under  way." 

Bill  Watt,  his  mate,  scanned  the  sky  in  the 
northeast.  It  was  heavy,  cold  and  leaden  ;  fluffy 
gray  towards  the  zenith,  and  black  where  the 
clouds  met  the  barren  hills. 

"  I  s'pose,"  said  he,  catching  Topsail's  drawl, 

"  that  'twill  snow  afore  long." 

69 


70     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"  Oh,  aye,"  was  the  slow  reply,  "  I  s'pose 
'twill." 

Again  Bill  Watt  faced  the  sullen  sky.  He  felt 
that  the  supreme  danger  threatened — snow  with 
wind. 

"I  s'pose/'  he  said,  "that  'twill  blow,  too." 

"Oh,  aye,"  Topsail  replied,  indifferently, 
"snow  'n'  blow.  We'll  know  what  'twill  do 
when  it  begins,"  he  added.  "  Billy,  b'y ! "  he 
shouted. 

In  response  Billy  Topsail  came  bounding  down 
the  rocky  path  from  the  cottage.  He  was  stout 
for  his  age,  with  broad  shoulders,  long  thick  arms 
and  large  hands.  There  was  a  boy's  flush  of  ex- 
pectation on  his  face,  and  the  flash  of  a  boy's  de- 
light in  his  eyes.  He  was  willing  for  adventure. 

"Bill  an'  me'll  take  the  rodney,"  Topsail 
drawled.  "  I  s'pose  you  might's  well  fetch  the 
punt,  an'  we'll  send  you  back  with  the  first 
haul." 

"Hooray!"  cried  Billy;  and  with  that  he 
waved  his  cap  and  sped  back  up  the  hill. 

"  Fetch  your  gaff,  lad  ! "  Topsail  called  after 
him.  "Make  haste!  There's  Joshua  Rideout 
with  his  sail  up.  'Tis  time  we  was  off." 

"  Looks  more'n  ever  like  snow,"  Bill  Watt  ol> 


SWEPT  TO  SEA  71 

served,  while  they  waited.     "  I'm  thinkin'  'twill 


snow." 


"  Oh,  maybe  'twon't,"  said  Topsail,  optimistic 
in  a  lazy  way. 

The  ice-floe  was  two  miles  or  more  off  the 
coast ;  thence  it  stretched  to  the  horizon — a  vast, 
rough,  blinding  white  field,  formed  of  detached 
fragments.  Some  of  the  "  pans  "  were  acres  in 
size ;  others  were  not  big  enough  to  bear  the 
weight  of  a  man  ;  all  were  floating  free,  rising 
and  falling  with  the  ground  swell. 

The  wind  was  light,  the  sea  quiet,  the  sky 
thinly  overcast.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  threat 
of  heavy  weather  in  the  northeast,  it  would  have 
been  an  ideal  day  for  the  hunt.  The  punt  and 
the  rodney,  the  latter  far  in  the  lead,  ran  quietly 
out  from  the  harbour,  with  their  little  sails  all 
spread.  From  the  punt  Billy  Topsail  could  soon 
see  the  small,  scattered  pack  of  seals — black  dots 
against  the  white  of  the  ice. 

When  the  rodney  made  the  field,  the  punts  of 
the  harbour  fleet  had  disappeared  in  the  winding 
lanes  of  open  water  that  led  through  the  floe. 
Tom  Topsail  was  late.  The  nearer  seals  were 
all  marked  by  the  hunters  who  had  already 
landed.  The  rodney  would  have  to  be  taken 


72     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

farther  in  than  the  most  venturesome  hunter  had 
yet  dared  to  go — perilously  far  into  the  midst  of 
the  shifting  pans. 

The  risk  of  sudden  wind — the  risk  that  the 
heavy  fragments  would  "pack"  and  "nip" 
the  boat — had  to  be  taken  if  seals  were  to  be 
killed. 

"  We  got  to  go  right  in,  Bill,"  said  Topsail,  as 
he  furled  the  rodney 's  sails. 

"  I  s'pose,"  was  Watt's  reply,  with  a  backward 
glance  to  the  northeast.  "  An'  Billy  ?  " 

"'Tis  not  wise  to  take  un  in,"  Topsail  an- 
swered, hastily.  "We'll  have  un  bide  here." 

Billy  was  hailed,  and,  to  his  great  disappoint- 
ment, warned  to  keep  beyond  the  edge  of  the 
floe.  Then  the  rodney  shot  into  the  lane,  with 
Topsail  and  Bill  Watt  rowing  like  mad.  She 
was  soon  lost  to  sight.  Billy  shipped  his  sail 
and  paddled  to  the  edge  of  the  ice,  to  wait,  as 
patiently  as  might  be,  for  the  reappearance  of 
the  rodney. 

Patience  soon  gave  way  to  impatience,  impa- 
tience to  anxiety,  anxiety  to  great  fear  for  the 
lives  of  his  father  and  the  mate,  for  the  offshore 
gale  was  driving  up ;  the  blue-black  clouds  were 
already  high  and  rising  swiftly. 


SWEPT  TO  SEA  73 

At  last  there  came  an  ominous  puff  of  wind. 
It  swept  over  the  sea  from  the  coast,  whipping 
up  little  waves  in  its  course — frothy  little  waves, 
that  hissed.  Heavy  flakes  of  snow  began  to  fall. 
As  the  wind  rose  they  fell  faster,  and  came  driv- 
ing, swirling  with  it. 

With  the  fall  of  the  first  flakes  the  harbour 
fleet  came  pell-mell  from  the  floe.  Not  a  man 
among  them  but  wished  himself  in  a  sheltered 
place.  Sails  were  raised  in  haste,  warnings  were 
shouted  ;  then  off  went  the  boats,  beating  up  to 
harbour  with  all  sail  set 

"  Make  sail,  lad ! "  old  Elisha  Bull  shouted  to 
Billy,  as  his  punt  swung  past 

Billy  shook  his  head.  "I'll  beat  back  with 
father ! "  he  cried. 

"  You'll  lose  yourself ! "  Elisha  screamed,  as  a 
last  warning,  before  his  punt  carried  him  out  of 
hail. 

But  Billy  still  hung  at  the  edge  of  the  ice. 
His  father  had  said,  "Bide  here  till  we  come 
out,"  and  "bide"  there  he  would. 

He  kept  watch  for  the  rodney,  but  no  rodney 
came.  Minute  after  minute  flew  by.  He  hesi- 
tated. Was  it  not  his  duty  to  beat  home?  There 
was  still  the  fair  chance  that  he  might  be  able  to 


74     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

make  the  harbour  Did  he  not  owe  a  duty  to 
his  mother — to  himself? 

But  a  crashing  noise  from  the  floe  brought 
him  instantly  to  a  decision.  He  knew  what  that 
noise  meant.  The  ice  was  feeling  the  force  of 
the  wind.  It  would  pack  and  move  out  to  sea. 
The  lane  by  which  the  rodney  had  entered  then 
slowly  closed. 

In  horror  Billy  watched  the  great  pans  swing 
together.  There  was  now  no  escape  for  the 
boat.  The  strong  probability  was  that  she 
would  be  crushed  to  splinters  by  the  crowding 
of  the  ice ;  that  indeed  she  had  already  been 
crushed ;  that  the  men  were  either  drowned  or 
cast  away  on  the  floe. 

At  once  "the  lad's  duty  was  plain  to  him.  He 
must  stay  where  he  was.  If  his  father  and  Bill 
Watt  managed  to  get  to  the  edge  of  the  ice 
afoot,  who  else  was  to  take  them  off  ? 

The  ice  was  moving  out  to  sea,  Billy  knew. 
The  pans  were  crunching,  grinding,  ever  more 
noisily.  But  he  let  the  punt  drift  as  near  as  he 
dared,  and  so  followed  the  pack  towards  the 
open,  keeping  watch,  ever  more  hopelessly,  for 
the  black  forms  of  the  two  men. 

Soon,  so  fast  did  the  sea  rise,  so  wild  was  the 


SWEPT  TO  SEA  75 

wind,  his  own  danger  was  very  great.  The  ice 
was  like  a  rocky  shore  to  leeward.  He  began  to 
fear  that  he  would  be  wrecked. 

Time  and  again  the  punt  was  nearly  swamped, 
but  Billy  dared  not  drop  the  oars  to  bail.  There 
was  something  more.  His  arms,  stout  and  sea- 
soned though  they  were,  were  giving  out.  It 
would  not  long  be  possible  to  keep  the  boat  off 
the  ice.  He  determined  to  land  on  the  floe. 

But  the  sea  was  breaking  on  the  ice  dead  to 
leeward.  It  was  impossible  to  make  a  landing 
there,  so  with  great  caution  he  paddled  to  the 
right,  seeking  a  projecting  point,  behind  which 
he  might  find  shelter.  At  last  he  came  to  a 
cove.  It  narrowed  to  a  long,  winding  arm, 
which  apparently  extended  some  distance  into 
the  floe. 

There  he  found  quiet  water.  He  landed  with- 
out difficulty  at  a  point  where  the  arm  was  no 
more  than  a  few  yards  wide.  Dusk  was  then 
approaching.  The  wind  was  bitterly  cold,  and 
the  snow  was  thick  and  blinding. 

It  would  not  be  safe,  he  knew,  to  leave  the 
boat  in  the  water,  for  at  any  moment  the  shifting 
pans  might  close  and  crush  it.  He  tried  to  lift 
it  out  of  the  water,  but  his  strength  was  not  suf- 


76     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

ficient.     He  managed  to  get  the  bow  on  the  ice ; 
that  was  all. 

"  I'll  just  have  to  leave  it,"  he  thought.  "  I'll 
just  have  to  trust  that  'twill  not  be  nipped." 

Near  by  there  was  a  hummock  of  ice.  He 
sought  the  lee  of  it,  and  there,  protected  from  the 
wind,  he  sat  down  to  wait 

Often,  when  the  men  were  spinning  yarns  in 
the  cottages  of  Ruddy  Cove  of  a  winter  night, 
he  had  listened,  open-mouthed,  to  the  tales  of 
seal-hunters  who  had  been  cast  away.  Now  he 
was  himself  drifting  out  to  sea.  He  had  no  fire, 
no  food,  no  shelter  but  a  hummock  of  ice.  He 
had  the  bitterness  of  the  night  to  pass  through 
— the  hunger  of  to-morrow  to  face. 

"  But  sure,"  he  muttered,  with  characteristic 
hopefulness,  "I've  a  boat,  an'  many  a  man  has 
been  cast  away  without  one." 

He  thought  he  had  better  make  another  effort 
to  haul  the  boat  on  the  ice.     Some  movement  of 
the  pack  might  close  the  arm  where  it  floated 
So  he  stumbled  towards  the  place. 

He  stared  round  in  amazement  and  alarm; 
then  he  uttered  a  cry  of  terror.  The  open  water 
had  disappeared. 

"She's    been    nipped i"    he    sobbed.     "She's 


SWEPT  TO  SEA  77 

been  nipped — nipped  to  splinters !     I've  lost  me- 
self!" 

Night  came  fast.  An  hour  before,  so  dense 
was  the  storm,  nothing  had  been  visible  sixty 
paces  away;  now  nothing  was  to  be  seen  any- 
where. Where  was  the  rodney  ?  Had  his  father 
and  Bill  Watt  escaped  from  the  floe  by  some 
new  opening  ?  Were  they  safe  at  home  ?  Were 
they  still  on  the  floe?  He  called  their  names. 
The  swish  of  the  storm,  the  cracking  and  crunch- 
ing of  the  ice  as  the  wind  swept  it  on — that  was 
all  that  he  heard. 

For  a  long  time  he  sat  in  dull  despair.  He 
hoped  no  longer. 

By  and  by,  when  it  was  deep  night,  something 
occurred  to  distract  him.  He  caught  sight  of  a 
crimson  glow,  flaring  and  fading.  It  seemed  to 
be  in  the  sky,  now  far  off,  now  near  at  hand 
He  started  up. 

"  What's  that?"  he  muttered. 


CHAPTER  IX 

In  Which  Old  Tom  Topsail  Burns  His  Punt  and 
Billy  Wanders  in  the  Night  and  Three  Lives 
Hang  on  a  Change  of  the  Wind 

MEANWHILE,  under  the  powerful 
strokes  of  old  Tom  Topsail  and  Bill 
Watt,  the  rodney  had  followed  the 
open  leads  into  the  heart  of  the  floe.  From  time 
to  time  Watt  muttered  a  warning ;  but  the  spirit 
of  the  hunt  fully  possessed  Tom,  and  his  only 
cry  was,  "  Push  on  !  Push  on  ! " 

Seal  after  seal  escaped,  while  the  sky  dark- 
ened. He  was  only  the  more  determined  not  to 
go  back  empty-handed. 

"I  tells  you/'  Watt  objected,  " we'll  not  get 
out.  There's  the  wind  now.  And  snow,  man — 
snow ! " 

The  warning  was  not  to  be  disregarded.  Top- 
sail thought  no  more  about  seals.  The  storm 
was  fairly  upon  them.  His  only  concern  was  to 
escape  from  the  floe.  He  was  glad,  indeed,  that 
Billy  had  not  followed  them.  He  had  that,  at 
least,  to  be  thankful  for. 


ON  THE  FLOE  79 

They  turned  the  boat.  Bending  to  the  oars, 
they  followed  the  lane  by  which  they  had  en- 
tered. Confusion  came  with  the  wind  and  the 
snow.  The  lay  of  the  pans  seemed  to  have 
changed.  It  was  changing  every  moment,  as 
they  perceived. 

"Tom,"  gasped  Watt,  at  last,  "we're  caught! 
'Tis  a  blind  lead  we're  in." 

That  was  true ;  the  lane  had  closed.  They 
must  seek  another  exit.  So  they  turned  the  boat 
and  followed  the  next  lane  that  opened.  It,  too, 
was  blocked. 

They  tried  another,  selected  at  random.  In 
that  blinding  storm  no  choice  was  possible. 
Again  disappointment ;  the  lane  narrowed  to  a 
point.  They  were  nearly  exhausted  now,  but 
they  turned  instantly  to  seek  another  way.  That 
way  was  not  to  be  found.  The  lane  had  closed 
behind  them. 

"  Trapped  ! "  muttered  Watt. 

"  Aye,  lad,"  Topsail  said,  solemnly,  "trapped !" 

They  rested  on  their  oars.  Ice  was  on 
every  hand.  They  stared  into  each  other's 
eyes. 

Then,  for  the  second  time,  Watt  ran  his  glance 
over  the  shores  of  the  lake  in  which  they  floated 


8o     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

He  started,  then  pointed  in  the  direction  from 
which  they  had  come.  Topsail  needed  no  word 
of  explanation.  The  ice  was  closing  in.  The 
pressure  of  the  pack  beyond  would  soon  obliter- 
ate  the  lake.  They  rowed  desperately  for  the 
nearest  shore. 

The  ice  was  rapidly  closing  in.  In  such  cases, 
as  they  knew,  it  often  closed  with  a  sudden  rush 
at  the  end,  crushing  some  pan  which  for  a  mo- 
ment had  held  it  in  check. 

When  the  boat  struck  the  ice  Watt  jumped 
ashore  with  the  painter.  Topsail,  leaping  from 
seat  to  seat,  followed  instantly.  At  that  mo- 
ment there  was  a  loud  crack,  like  a  clap 
of  thunder.  It  was  followed  by  a  crunching 
noise. 

"It's  comin' !  "  screamed  Topsail. 

"Heave away !'' 

They  caught  the  bow,  lifted  it  out  of  the  water, 
and  with  a  united  effort  slowly  hauled  it  out  of 
harm's  way.  A  moment  later  there  was  no  sign 
of  open  water. 

"Thank  God  ! "  gasped  Topsail. 

By  this  time  the  storm  was  a  blizzard.  The 
men  had  no  shelter,  and  they  were  afraid  to  ven- 
ture far  from  the  boat  in  search  of  it.  Neither 


ON  THE  FLOE  81 

would  permit  the  other  to  stumble  over  the  rough 
ice,  chancing  its  pitfalls,  for  neither  cared  to  be 
lost  from  the  other. 

Now  they  sat  silent  in  the  lee  of  the  upturned 
boat,  with  the  snow  swirling  about  them  ;  again 
they  ran  madly  back  and  forth ;  yet  again  they 
swung  their  arms  and  stamped  their  feet.  At 
last,  do  what  they  would,  they  shivered  all  the 
time.  Then  they  sat  quietly  down. 

"  I'm  wonderful  glad  Billy  is  safe  home,"  Watt 
observed. 

"I  wisht  I  was  sure  o'  that,"  said  Topsail, 
"  It  looks  bad  for  us,  Bill,  lad.  The  ice  is  drivin' 
out  fast,  an'  I'm  thinkin'  'twill  blow  steady  for  a 
day.  It  looks  wonderful  bad  for  us,  an'  I'd  feel 
— easier  in  me  mind — about  the  lad's  mother — 
if  I  knowed  he  was  safe  home." 

Late  in  the  night  Topsail  turned  to  Watt.  He 
had  to  nudge  him  to  get  his  attention.  "  It's 
awful  cold,  Bill,"  he  said.  "We  got  the  boat, 
lad.  Eh  ?  We  got  the  boat." 

"No,  no,  Tom!  Not  yet!  We'd  be  sure 
doomed  without  the  boat." 

Half  an  hour  passed.  Again  Topsail  roused 
Watt. 

"  We're  doomed  if  we  don't,"  he  said.     "  We 


82     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

can't  stand  it  till  mornin',  lad.  We  can't  wait  no 
longer." 

Watt  blundered  to  his  feet.  Without  a  word 
he  fumbled  in  the  snow  until  he  found  what  he 
sought.  It  was  the  axe.  He  handed  it  to  Top- 
sail. 

"  Do  it,  Tom !  "  he  said,  thickly.  "  I'm  near 
gone." 

Topsail  attacked  the  boat.  It  was  like  murder, 
he  thought.  He  struck  blow  after  blow,  blindly, 
viciously ;  gathered  the  splinters,  made  a  little 
heap  of  them  and  set  them  afire.  The  fire  blazed 
brightly.  Soon  it  was  roaring.  The  ice  all 
around  was  lighted  up.  Above,  the  snow  re- 
flected the  lurid  glow. 

Warmth  and  a  cheerful  light  put  life  in 
the  men.  They  crept  as  close  to  the  fire  as  they 
could.  Reason  would  shut  out  hope  altogether, 
but  hope  came  to  them.  Might  not  the  storm 
abate  ?  Might  not  the  wind  change  ?  Might  not 
they  be  picked  up  ?  In  this  strain  they  talked 
for  a  long  time  ;  and  meanwhile  they  added  the 
fuel,  splinter  by  splinter. 

"Father!     'TisyouJ" 

Topsail  leaped  to  his  feet  and  stared. 


BILLY    STAGGERED    INTO    THE    CIRCLE    OF    LIGHT. 


ON  THE  FLOE  83 

"Tis  Billy! "cried Watt. 

Billy  staggered  into  the  circle  of  light.  He 
stared  stupidly  at  the  fire.  Then  he  tottered  a 
step  or  two  nearer,  and  stood  swaying  ;  and  again 
he  stared  at  the  fire  in  a  stupid  way. 

"  I  seed  the  fire  I "  he  mumbled.  "  The  punt's 
nipped,  sir — an'  I  seed  the  fire — an'  crawled  over 
the  ice.  'Twas  hard  to  find  you." 

Tom  Topsail  and  Bill  Watt  understood.  They, 
too,  had  travelled  rough  ice  in  a  blizzard,  and 
they  understood. 

Billy  was  wet  to  the  waist.  That  meant  that, 
blinded  by  the  snow  or  deceived  by  the  night,  he 
had  slipped  through  some  opening  in  the  ice, 
some  crack  or  hole.  The  bare  thought  of  that 
lonely  peril  was  enough  to  make  the  older  men 
shudder.  But  they  asked  him  no  questions. 
They  led  him  to  the  fire,  prodigally  replenished 
it,  and  sat  him  down  between  them.  By  and  by 
he  was  so  far  recovered  that  he  was  able  to  sup- 
port his  father's  argument  that  the  wind  had  not 
changed. 

"  Oh,  well,"  replied  Watt,  doggedly,  "  you  can 
say  what  you  likes ;  but  I  tells  you  that  the 
wind's  veered  to  the  south.  'T would  not  sur- 


84     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

prise  me  if  the  pack  was  drivin'  Cape  Wonder 
way." 

"No,  no,  Bill,"  said  Topsail  sadly;  "there's 
been  no  change.  We're  drivin  straight  out. 
When  the  wind  drops  the  pack' 11  go  to  pieces, 
an'  then " 

Thus  the  argument  was  continued,  intermit- 
tently, until  near  dawn.  Of  a  sudden,  then,  they 
heard  a  low,  far-off  rumble.  It  was  a  significant, 
terrifying  noise.  It  ran  towards  them,  increasing 
in  volume.  It  was  like  the  bumping  that  runs 
through  a  freight-train  when  the  engine  comes  to 
a  sudden  stop. 

The  pack  trembled.  There  was  then  a  fearful 
confusion  of  grinding,  crashing  sounds.  Every- 
where the  ice  was  heaving  and  turning.  The 
smaller  pans  were  crushed  ;  many  of  the  greater 
ones  were  forced  on  end ;  some  were  lifted 
bodily  out  of  the  water,  and  fell  back  in  frag- 
ments, broken  by  their  own  weight.  On  all 
sides  were  noise  and  awful  upheaval.  The  great 
pan  upon  which  the  seal-hunters  had  landed  was 
tipped  up — up— up — until  it  was  like  the  side  of 
a  steep  hill.  There  it  rested.  Then  came 
silence. 


ON  THE  FLOE  85 

Bill  Watt  was  right :  the  wind  had  changed ; 
the  pack  had  grounded  on  Cape  Wonder.  The 
three  men  from  Ruddy  Cove  walked  ashore  in 
the  morning. 

Billy  was  the  first  to  run  up  to  the  house.  He 
went  through  the  door  like  a  gale  of  wind. 

"  We're  safe,  mother ! "  he  shouted. 

"  I'm  glad,  dear,"  said  his  mother,  quietly. 
"Breakfast  is  ready." 

When  Billy  was  older  he  learned  the  trick  his 
mother  had  long  ago  mastered — to  betray  no  ex- 
citement, whatever  the  situation. 


CHAPTER  X 

How  Billy  Topsail's  Friend  Bobby  Lot  Joined 
Fortunes  With  Eli  Zitt  and  Whether  or  Not  he 
Proved  Worthy  of  the  Partnership 

RUDDY  COVE  called  Eli  Zitt  a  "hard" 
man.  In  Newfoundland,  that  means 
"hardy"— not  "bad."  Eli  was  gruff- 
voiced,  lowering-eyed,  unkempt,  big ;  he  could 
swim  with  the  dogs,  outdare  all  the  reckless 
spirits  of  the  Cove  with  the  punt  in  a  gale,  bare 
his  broad  breast  to  the  winter  winds,  travel  the 
ice  wet  or  dry,  shoulder  a  barrel  of  flour ;  he  was 
a  sturdy,  fearless  giant,  was  Eli  Zitt,  of  Ruddy 
Cove.  And  for  this  the  Cove  very  properly 
called  him  a  "  hard  "  man. 

When  Josiah  Lot,  his  partner,  put  out  to  sea 
and  never  came  back — an  offshore  gale  had  the 
guilt  of  that  deed — Eli  scowled  more  than  ever 
and  said  a  deal  less. 

"He'll  be  feelin'  bad  about  Josiah,"  said  the 
Cove. 

Which   may  have  been  true.     However,  Eli 

took  care  of  Josiah' s  widow  and  son.     The  son 

86 


BOBBY  LOT  87 

was  Bobby  Lot,  with  whom,  subsequently,  Billy 
Topsail  shared  the  adventure  of  the  giant  squid 
of  Chain  Tickle.  The  Cove  laughed  with  de« 
light  to  observe  Eli  Zitt's  attachment  to  the  lad. 
The  big  fellow  seemed  to  be  quite  unable  to  pass 
the  child  without  patting  him  on  the  back ;  and 
sometimes,  so  exuberant  was  his  affection,  the 
pats  were  of  such  a  character  that  Bobby  lost  hi* 
breath.  Whereupon,  Eli  would  chuckle  the 
harder,  mutter  odd  endearments,  and  stride  off 
on  his  way. 

"  He'll  be  likin'  that  lad  pretty  well,"  said  the 
Cove.  "  Nar  a  doubt,  they'll  be  partners." 

And  it  came  to  pass  as  the  Cove  surmised ;  but 
much  sooner  than  the  Cove  expected.  Josiah 
Lot's  widow  died  when  Bobby  was  eleven  years 
old.  When  the  little  gathering  at  the  graveyard 
in  the  shelter  of  Great  Hill  dispersed,  Eli  took 
the  lad  out  in  the  punt — far  out  to  the  quiet  fish- 
ing grounds,  where  they  could  be  alone.  It  was 
a  glowing  efening — red  and  gold  in  the  western 
sky.  The  sea  was  heaving  gently,  and  the  face 
of  the  waters  was  unruffled. 

"  Bobby,  b'y  ! "  Eli  whispered.  "  Bobby,  lad ! 
Does  you  hear  me?  Don't  cry  no  more  1 " 

"  Ay,  Eli,"  sobbed  Bobby.     "  I'll  cry  no  more.' 


88     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

But  he  kept  on  crying,  just  the  same,  for  he 
could  not  stop ;  and  Eli  looked  away — very 
quickly — to  the  glowing  sunset  clouds.  Can't 
you  tell  why  ? 

"  Bobby,"  he  said,  turning,  at  last,  to  the  lad, 
"  us'll  be  partners — you  an'  me." 

Bobby  sobbed  harder  than  ever. 

"  Won't  us,  lad?" 

Eli  laid  his  great  hand  on  Bobby's  shoulder. 
Then  Bobby  took  his  fists  out  of  his  eyes  and 
looked  up  into  Eli's  compassionate  face. 

"Ay,  Eli,"  he  said,  "us'll  be  partners— jus' 
you  an'  me." 

From  that  out,  they  were  partners ;  and  Bobby 
Lot  was  known  in  the  Cove  as  the  foster  son  of 
Eli  Zitt.  They  lived  together  in  Eli's  cottage  by 
the  tickle  cove,  where  Eli  had  lived  alone,  since, 
many  years  before,  his  mother  had  left  him  to 
face  the  world  for  himself.  The  salmon  net,  the 
herring  seine,  the  punt,  the  flake,  the  stage — 
these  they  held  in  common  ;  and  they  went  to 
the  grounds  together,  where  they  fished  the  long 
days  through,  good  friends,  good  partners.  The 
Cove  said  that  they  were  very  happy  ;  and,  as  al- 
ways, the  Cove  was  right. 

One  night   Eli   came  ashore  from  a  trading 


BOBBY  LOT  89 

schooner  that  had  put  in  in  the  morning,  smiling 
broadly  as  he  entered  the  kitchen.  He  laid  his 
hand  on  the  table,  palm  down. 

"  They's  a  gift  for  you  under  that  paw,  lad," 
he  said. 

"  For  me,  Eli !  "  cried  Bobby. 

"  Ay,  lad — for  my  partner !  " 

Bobby  stared  curiously  at  the  big  hand.  He 
wondered  what  it  covered.  "  What  is  it,  Eli  ?  " 
he  asked.  "  Come,  show  me  !  " 

Eli  lifted  the  hand,  and  gazed  at  Bobby,  grin- 
ning, the  while,  with  delight.  It  was  a  jack- 
knife — a  stout  knife,  three-bladed,  horn-handled, 
big,  serviceable ;  just  the  knife  for  a  fisher  lad. 
Bobby  picked  it  up,  but  said  never  a  word,  for 
his  delight  overcame  him. 

"  You're  wonderful  good  t'  me,  Eli,"  he  said, 
at  last  looking  up  with  glistening  eyes.  "  You're 
wonderful  good  t'  me  ! "  . 

Eli  put  his  arm  around  the  boy.  "  You're  a 
good  partner,  lad,"  he  said.  "  You're  a  wonder- 
ful good  partner ! " 

Bobby  was  proud  of  that 

They  put  the  salmon  net  out  in  the  spring. 
The  ice  was  still  lingering  offshore.  The  west 


90     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

wind  carried  it  out ;  the  east  wind  swept  it  in : 
variable  winds  kept  pans  and  bergs  drifting 
hither  and  thither,  and  no  man  could  tell  where 
next  the  ice  would  go.  Now,  the  sea  was  clear, 
from  the  shore  to  the  jagged,  glistening  white 
line,  off  near  the  horizon  ;  next  day — the  day 
after — and  the  pack  was  grinding  against  the 
coast  rocks.  Men  had  to  keep  watch  to  save  the 
nets  from  destruction. 

The  partners'  net  was  moored  off  Break-heart 
Point.  It  was  a  good  berth,  but  a  rough  one ; 
when  the  wind  was  in  the  northeast,  the  waters 
off  the  point  were  choppy  and  covered  with 
sheets  of  foam  from  the  breakers. 

"  'Tis  too  rough  t'  haul  the  salmon  net,"  said 
Eli,  one  day.  "  I'll  be  goin'  over  the  hills  for  a 
sack  o'  flour.  An*  you'll  be  a  good  b'y  'til  I 
gets  back  ?  " 

"  Oh,  ay,  sir ! "  said  Bobby  Lot. 

It  was  a  rough  day :  the  wind  was  blowing 
from  the  north,  a  freshening,  gusty  breeze,  cold 
and  misty ;  off  to  sea,  the  sky  was  leaden,  threat- 
ening, and  overhead  dark  clouds  were  driving 
low  and  swift  with  the  wind  ;  the  water  was 
choppy — rippling  black  under  the  squalls.  The 
ice  was  drifting  alongshore,  well  out  from  the 


BOBBY  LOT  91 

coast ;  there  was  a  berg  and  the  wreck  of  a  berg 
of  Arctic  ice  and  many  a  pan  from  the  bays  and 
harbours  of  the  coast. 

With  the  wind  continuing  in  the  north,  the  ice 
vrould  drift  harmlessly  past.  But  the  wind 
changed.  In  the  afternoon  it  freshened  and 
veered  to  the  east.  At  four  o'clock  it  was  half  a 
gale,  blowing  inshore. 

"I'll  just  be  goin'  out  the  tickle  t'  have  a  look 
at  that  ice,"  thought  Bobby.  "  Tis  like  it'll 
come  ashore." 

He  looked  the  punt  over  very  carefully  before 
setting  out.  It  was  wise,  he  thought,  to  prepare 
to  take  her  out  into  the  gale,  whether  or  not  he 
must  go.  He  saw  to  it  that  the  thole-pins  were 
tight  and  strong,  that  the  bail-bucket  was  in  its 
place,  that  the  running  gear  was  fit  for  heavy 
strain.  The  wind  was  then  fluttering  the  harbour 
water  and  screaming  on  the  hilltops ;  and  he 
could  hear  the  sea  breaking  on  the  tickle  rocks. 
He  rowed  down  the  harbour  to  the  mouth  of  the 
tickle,  whence  he  commanded  a  view  of  the  coast, 
north  and  south. 

The  ice  was  drifting  towards  Break-heart 
Point.  It  would  destroy  the  salmon  net  within 
the  hour,  he  perceived — sweep  over  it,  tear  it 


92     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

from  its  moorings,  bruise  it  against  the  rocks. 
Bobby  knew,  in  a  moment,  that  his  duty  was  to 
put  out  from  the  sheltered  harbour  to  the  wind- 
swept, breaking  open,  where  the  spume  was  fly- 
ing and  the  heave  and  fret  of  the  sea  threatened 
destruction  to  the  little  punt.  Were  he  true  man 
and  good  partner  he  would  save  the  net ! 

"  He've  been  good  t*  me,"  he  thought. 
"Ay,  Eli  Ve  been  wonderful  good  t'  me.  I'll 
be  true  partner  t'  himl" 


CHAPTER  XI 

Bobby  Lot  Learns  to  Swim  and  Eli  Zitt  Shows 
Amazing  Courage  and  Self-possession  and 
Strength 

WHEN,  returning  over  the  hills,  Eli  Zitt 
came  to  the  Knob  o'  Break-heart,  he 
saw  his  own  punt  staggering  through 
the  gray  waves  towards  the  net  off  the  point — 
tossing  with  the  sea  and  reeling  under  the  gusty 
wind — with  his  little  partner  in  the  stern.  The 
boat  was  between  the  ice  and  the  breakers.  The 
space  of  open  water  was  fast  narrowing ;  only  a 
few  minutes  more  and  the  ice  would  strike  the 
rocks.  Eli  dropped  on  his  knees,  then  and  there, 
and  prayed  God  to  save  the  lad. 

"  O  Lard,  save  my  lad !  "  he  cried.  "  O  Lard, 
save  my  wee  lad  ! " 

He  saw  the  punt  draw  near  the  first  mooring ; 
saw  Bobby  loose  the  sheet,  and  let  the  brown  sail 
flutter  like  a  flag  in  the  wind ;  saw  him  leap  to 
the  bow,  and  lean  over,  with  a  knife  in  his  hand, 
while  the  boat  tossed  in  the  lop,  shipping  water 
every  moment ;  saw  him  stagger  amidships,  bail 

93 


94     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

like  mad,  snatch  up  the  oars,  pull  to  the  second 
mooring  and  cut  the  last  net-rope  ;  saw  him  leap 
from  seat  to  seat  to  the  stern,  grasp  the  tiller, 
haul  taut  the  sheet,  and  stand  off  to  the  open 
sea. 

"  Clever  Bobby  I  "  he  screamed,  wildly  excited. 
"  Clever  lad  !  My  partner,  my  little  partner  1 " 

But  the  wind  carried  the  cry  away.  Bobby 
did  not  hear — did  not  know,  even,  that  his  part- 
ner had  been  a  spectator  of  his  brave  faithful- 
ness. He  was  beating  out,  to  make  sea-room 
for  the  run  with  the  wind  to  harbour ;  and  the 
boat  was  dipping  her  gunwale  in  a  way  that 
kept  every  faculty  alert  to  keep  her  afloat.  Eli 
watched  him  until  he  rounded  and  stood  in  for 
the  tickle.  Then  the  man  sighed  happily  and 
went  home. 

"  Us' 11  grapple  for  that  net  the  morrow,"  he 
said,  when  Bobby  came  in. 

Bobby  opened  his  eyes.  "Aye?"  he  said. 
"  'Tis  safe  on  the  bottom.  I  thought  I'd  best  cut 
it  adrift  t'  save  it." 

"  I  seed  you,"  said  Eli,  "  from  the  Knob.  'Twas 
well  done,  lad  !  You're  a  true  partner." 

"  The  knife  come  in  handy,"  said  Bobby,  smil 
ing.     "  'Tis  a  good  knife." 


AMAZING  STRENGTH  95 

"  Aye,"  said  Eli,  with  a  shake  of  the  head.    "  I 
bought  un  for  a  good  one." 
And  that  was  all. 

Eli  set  about  rearing  young  Bobby  in  a  fashion 
as  wise  as  he  knew.  He  exposed  the  lad  to  wet 
and  weather,  as  judiciously  as  he  could,  to  make 
him  hardy  ;  he  took  him  to  sea  in  high  winds,  to 
fix  his  courage  and  teach  him  to  sail ;  he  taught 
him  the  weather  signs,  the  fish-lore  of  the  coast, 
the  "  marks  "  for  the  fishing  grounds,  the  where- 
abouts of  shallows  and  reefs  and  currents ;  he 
took  him  to  church  and  sent  him  to  Sunday- 
school.  And  he  taught  him  to  swim. 

On  the  fine  days  of  that  summer,  when  there 
were  no  fish  to  be  caught,  the  man  and  the  lad 
went  together  to  the  Wash-tub — a  deep,  little 
cove  of  the  sea,  clear,  quiet,  bottomed  with  smooth 
rock  and  sheltered  from  the  wind  by  high  cliffs  ; 
but  cold — almost  as  cold  as  ice-water.  Here 
Bobby  delighted  to  watch  Eli  dive,  leap  from  the 
cliff,  float  on  his  back,  swim  far  out  to  sea ;  here 
he  gazed  with  admiration  on  the  man's  rugged 
body — broad  shoulders,  bulging  muscles,  great 
arms  and  legs.  And  here,  too,  he  learned  to 
swim. 


96     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

When  the  warmest  summer  days  were  gone, 
Bobby  could  paddle  about  the  Wash-tub  in 
promising  fashion.  He  was  confident  when  Eli 
was  at  hand — sure,  then,  that  he  could  keep 
afloat.  But  he  was  not  yet  sure  enough  of  his 
power  when  Eli  had  gone  on  the  long  swim  to 
sea.  Eli  said  that  he  had  done  well ;  and  Bobby, 
himself,  often  said  that  he  could  swim  a  deal  bet- 
ter than  a  stone.  In  an  emergency,  both  agreed, 
Bobby's  new  accomplishment  would  be  sure  to 
serve  him  well. 

"  Sure,  if  the  punt  turned  over,"  Bobby  inno- 
cently boasted,  "I'd  be  able  t'  swim  'til  you 
righted  her." 

That  was  to  be  proved. 

"  Eli,  b'y,"  said  old  James  Blunt,  one  day  in 
the  fall  of  the  year,  "  do  you  take  my  new  dory 
t'  the  grounds  t'-day.  Sure,  I'd  like  t'  know 
how  you  likes  it." 

Old  James  had  built  his  boat  after  a  south- 
coast  model.  She  was  a  dory,  a  flat-bottomed 
craft,  as  distinguished  from  a  punt,  which  has  a 
round  bottom  and  keel.  He  was  proud  of  her, 
but  somewhat  timid ;  and  he  wanted  Eli's  opin- 
ion of  her  quality. 


AMAZING  STRENGTH  97 

"  'Tis  a  queer  lookin'  thing  1"  said  Eli.  "  But 
me  an'  my  partner' 11  try  she,  James,  just  for 
luck." 

That  afternoon  a  fall  gale  caught  the  dory  on 
the  Farthest  Grounds — far  out  beyond  the  Wolf's 
Teeth  Reef.  It  came  from  the  shore  so  suddenly 
that  Eli  could  not  escape  it.  So  it  was  a  beat  to 
harbour,  with  the  wind  and  sea  rising  fast.  Orl 
the  Valley,  which  is  half  a  mile  from  the  narrows, 
a  gust  came  out  between  the  hills — came  strong 
and  swift.  It  heeled  the  dory  over — still  over — 
down — down  until  the  water  poured  in  over  the 
gunwale.  Eli  let  go  the  main-sheet,  expecting 
the  sail  to  fall  away  from  the  wind  and  thus  ease 
the  boat.  But  the  line  caught  in  the  block. 
Down  went  the  dory — still  down.  And  of  a  sud- 
den it  capsized. 

When  Bobby  came  to  the  surface,  he  began 
frantically  to  splash  the  water,  momentarily  los- 
ing strength,  breath  and  self-possession.  Eli  was 
waiting  for  him,  with  head  and  shoulders  out  of 
the  water,  like  an  eager  dog  as  he  waits  for  the 
stick  his  master  is  about  to  throw.  He  swam 
close ;  but  hung  off  for  a  moment — until,  indeed, 
he  perceived  that  Bobby  would  never  of  himself 
regain  his  self-possession — for  he  did  not  want 


98     The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

the  boy  to  be  too  soon  beholden  to  him  for  aid. 
Then  he  slipped  his  hand  under  Bobby's  breast 
and  buoyed  him  up. 

"  Partner ! "  he  said,  quietly.     "  Partner  1 " 

Bobby's  panic-stricken  struggles  at  once 
ceased ;  for  he  had  been  used  to  giving  instant 
obedience  to  Eli's  commands.  He  looked  in 
Eli's  dripping  face. 

"Easy,  partner,"  said  Eli,  still  quietly. 
"  Strike  out,  now." 

Bobby  smiled,  and  struck  out,  as  directed.  In 
a  moment  he  was  swimming  at  Eli's  side. 

"Take  it  easy,  lad,"  Eli  continued.  "Just 
take  it  easy  while  I  rights  the  boat.  It's  all 
right.  I'll  have  you  aboard  in  a  jiffy.  Is  you — 
is  you — all  right,  Bobby  ?  " 

"  Aye,"  Bobby  gasped. 

Eli  waited  for  a  moment  longer.  He  was 
loath  to  leave  the  boy  to  take  care  of  himself. 
Until  then  he  had  not  known  how  large  a  place 
in  his  heart  his  little  partner  filled,  how  much  he 
had  come  to  depend  upon  him  for  all  those 
things  which  make  life  worth  while.  He  had  not 
known,  indeed,  how  far  away  from  the  old,  lonely 
life  the  lad  had  led  him.  So  he  waited  for  a 
moment  longer,  watching  Bobby.  Then  he 


AMAZING  STRENGTH  99 

swam  to  the  overturned  dory,  where,  after  an 
anxious  glance  towards  the  lad,  he  dived  to  cut 
away  the  gear — and  dived  again,  and  yet  again ; 
watching  Bobby  all  the  time  he  was  at  the  sur- 
face for  breath. 

The  gear  cut  away,  the  mast  pulled  from  its 
socket,  Eli  righted  the  boat.  It  takes  a  strong 
man  and  clever  swimmer  to  do  that ;  but  Eli  was 
clever  in  the  water,  and  strong  anywhere.  More- 
over, it  was  a  trick  he  had  learned. 

"  Come,  Bobby,  b'y  ! "  he  called. 

Bobby  swam  towards  the  boat.  Eli  swam  to 
meet  him,  and  helped  him  over  the  last  few 
yards  of  choppy  sea,  for  the  lad  was  almost  ex- 
hausted. Bobby  laid  a  hand  on  the  bow  of  the 
dory.  Then  Eli  pulled  off  one  of  his  long  boots, 
and  swam  to  the  stern,  where  he  began  cau- 
tiously to  bail  the  boat.  When  she  was  light 
enough  in  the  water,  he  helped  Bobby  aboard, 
and  Bobby  bailed  her  dry. 

"Ha,  lad!"  Eli  ejaculated,  with  a  grin  that 
made  his  face  shine.  "You  is  safe  aboard. 
How  is  you,  b'y  ?  " 

"Tired,  Eli,"  Bobby  answered. 

"  You  bide  quiet  where  you  is,"  said  Eli.  "  I'll 
find  the  paddles ;  an'  I'll  soon  have  you  home." 


ioo  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

Eli's  great  concern  had  been  to  get  the  boy 
out  of  the  water.  He  had  cared  for  little  else 
than  that — to  get  him  out  of  the  reach  of  the  sea. 
And  now  he  was  confronted  by  the  problem  of 
making  harbour.  The  boat  was  slowly  drifting 
out  with  the  wind  ;  the  dusk  was  approaching ; 
and  every  moment  it  was  growing  more  difficult 
to  swim  in  the  choppy  sea.  It  took  him  a  long 
time  to  find  the  paddles. 

"  Steady  the  boat,  Bobby,"  he  said,  when  the 
boy  had  taken  the  paddles  into  the  dory.  "Fro 
comin'  aboard." 

Eli  attempted  to  board  the  dory  over  the  bow. 
She  was  tossing  about  in  a  choppy  sea ;  and  he 
was  not  used  to  her  ways.  Had  she  been  a  punt 
— his  punt — he  would  have  been  aboard  in  a 
trice.  But  she  was  not  his  punt — not  a  punt,  at 
all ;  she  was  a  new  boat,  a  dory,  a  flat-bottomed 
craft ;  he  was  not  used  to  her  ways.  Bobby  tried 
desperately  to  steady  her  while  Eli  lifted  himself 
out  of  the  water. 

"Take  care,  Eli!"  he  screamed.  "She'll  be 
over!" 

Eli  got  his  knee  on  the  gunwale — no  more 
than  that.  A  wave  tipped  the  boat ;  she  lurched ; 
she  capsized.  And  again  Eli  waited  for  Bobby 


AMAZING  STRENGTH  101 

to  come  to  the  surface  of  the  water ;  again  buoyed 
him  up  ;  again  gave  him  courage ;  again  helped 
him  to  the  boat;  again  bailed  the  boat — this 
time  with  one  of  Bobby's  boots — and  again 
helped  Bobby  aboard. 

"I'm  wonderful  tired,  Eli,"  said  Bobby,  when 
the  paddles  were  handed  over  the  side  for  the 
second  time.  "I'm  fair'  done  out." 

"  'Twill  be  over  soon,  lad.  I'll  have  you  home 
by  the  kitchen  fire  in  half  an  hour.  Come,  now, 
partner  !  Steady  the  boat.  I'll  try  again." 

Even  more  cautiously  Eli  attempted  to  clam- 
ber aboard.  Inch  by  inch  he  raised  himself  out 
of  the  water.  When  the  greater  waves  ran  under 
the  boat,  he  paused  ;  when  she  rode  on  an  even 
keel,  he  came  faster.  Inch  by  inch,  humouring 
the  cranky  boat  all  the  time,  he  lifted  his  right 
leg.  But  he  could  not  get  aboard.  Again, 
when  his  knee  was  on  the  gunwale,  the  dory 
capsized. 

For  the  third  time  the  little  partner  was  helped 
aboard  and  given  a  boot  with  which  to  bail. 
His  strength  was  then  near  gone.  He  threw 
water  over  the  side  until  he  could  no  longer  lift 
his  arms. 

"  Eli,"  he  gasped,  "  I  can  do  no  more ! " 


102  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

Eli  put  his  hand  on  the  bow,  as  though  about 
to  attempt  to  clamber  aboard  again.  But  he 
withdrew  it. 

"  Bobby,  b'y,"  he  said,  "  could  you  not  man- 
age t'  pull  a  bit  with  the  paddles.  I'll  swim 
alongside." 

Bobby  stared  stupidly  at  him. 

Again  Eli  put  his  hand  on  the  bow.  He  was 
in  terror  of  losing  Bobby's  life.  Never  before 
had  he  known  such  dread  and  fear.  He  did  not 
dare  risk  overturning  the  boat  again ;  for  he 
knew  that  Bobby  would  not  survive  for  the  fourth 
time.  What  could  he  do?  He  could  not  get 
aboard,  and  Bobby  could  not  row.  How  was  he 
to  get  the  boy  ashore  ?  His  hand  touched  the 
painter — the  long  rope  by  which  the  boat  was 
moored  to  the  stage.  That  gave  him  an  idea : 
he  would  tow  the  boat  ashore ! 

So  he  took  the  rope  in  his  teeth,  and  struck 
out  for  the  tickle  to  the  harbour  I 

"'Twas  a  close  call,  b'y,"  said  Eli,  when  he 
and  Bobby  sat  by  the  kitchen  fire. 

"  Ay,  Eli ;  'twas  a  close  call." 

"A  wonderful  close  call!"  Eli  repeated,  grin- 
ning. "  The  closest  I  ever  knowed." 


AMAZING  STRENGTH  103 

"  An'  'twas  too  bad,"  said  Bobby,  "f  lose  the 
gear." 

Eli  laughed. 

"  What  you  laughin'  at?"  Bobby  asked. 

"  I  brought  ashore  something  better  than  the 
gear." 

"The  dory?" 

"  No,  b'y  1 "  Eli  roared.     "  My  little  partner  1 ' 


CHAPTER  XII 

Containing  the  Surprising  Adventure  of  Eli  Zitf  3 
Little  Partner  on  the  Way  Back  from  Fortune 
Harbour,  in  Which  a  Newfoundland  Dog  Dis- 
plays a  Saving  Intelligence 

BOBBY  LOT,  Eli  Zitt's  little  partner,  left 
his  dog  at  home  when  he  set  out  for  For- 
tune Harbour  in  Eli's  punt.     He  thought 
it  better  for  the  dog.     He  liked  company,  well 
enough,  did  Bobby  ;  but  he  loved  his  dog.    Why 
expose  the  lazy,  fat,  old  fellow,  with  his  shaky 
legs  and  broken  teeth,  to  an  attack  in  force  by 
the  pack  of  a  strange  harbour  ? 

The  old  dog's  fighting  days  were  over.  He 
had  been  a  mighty,  masterful  beast  in  his  prime  ; 
and  he  had  scarred  too  many  generations  of  the 
Ruddy  Cove  pack  to  be  molested  now  as  he 
waddled  about  the  roads  and  coves  where  his 
strength  and  courage  had  been  proved.  But 
the  dogs  of  Fortune  Harbour  knew  nothing  of 
the  deeds  he  had  done  ;  and  an  air  of  dignity,  a 
snarl  and  a  show  of  yellow  teeth  would  not  be 
sufficient  to  discourage  the  yelping  onset. 

"  They'd  kill  him,"  thought  the  master, 
104 


WAY  FROM  FORTUNE  HARBOUR  105 

So  the  lad  determined  to  leave  his  dog  at 
home,  and  it  was  well  for  him  that  he  did. 

"  Go  back,  Bruce ! "  he  cried,  as  he  pushed 
out  from  Eli  Zitt's  wharf-head. 

But  Bruce  slipped  into  the  water  from  the 
rocks,  and  swam  after  the  boat,  a  beseeching 
look  in  the  eyes  which  age  had  glazed  and  shot 
with  blood.  He  was  not  used  to  being  left  at 
home  when  Bobby  pushed  out  in  the  punt. 

"  Go  home,  b'y !  "  cried  Bobby,  lifting  an  oar. 

The  threatening  gesture  was  too  much  for 
Bruce.  He  raised  himself  in  the  water  and 
whined,  then  wheeled  about  and  paddled  for 
shore. 

"  Good  dog ! "  Bobby  called  after  him. 

In  response,  the  water  in  the  wake  of  the  dog 
was  violently  agitated.  He  was  wagging  his 
tail.  Thus  he  signified  a  cheerful  acquiescence. 

"  He'll  be  wonderin'  why  he've  been  sent  back," 
thought  Bobby.  "  'Tis  too  bad  we  can't  tell  dogs 
things  like  that." 

Bobby  had  a  message  for  Sammy  Tompkins. 
It  was  about  the  great  run  of  cod  at  Good  Luck 
Tickles,  the  news  of  which  had  reached  Ruddy 
Cove  that  morning.  But  old  Sammy  was  on  the 


106  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

Black  Fly  fishing  grounds  when  the  lad  got  to 
Fortune  Harbour.  It  was  growing  dark  when  he 
got  in  for  the  night.  So  Bobby  chanced  to  be 
late  starting  home. 

The  wind  had  fallen  away  to  a  breathless 
calm ;  the  sky  was  thickly  overcast,  and  a  thin 
mist  lay  between  the  gloomy  clouds  and  the  sea's 
long,  black  ground-swell.  Bobby  had  not  pulled 
through  four  of  the  six  miles  before  sea  and  sky 
and  rocky  coast  were  melted  into  one  vast,  deep 
shadow,  except  where,  near  at  hand,  the  bolder 
headlands  were  to  be  distinguished  by  one  who 
knew  them  well. 

"  I  wonder,"  Bobby  thought,  "  if  I'll  get  home 
before  mornin'.  'Tis  hard  t'  say.  I  might  have 
t'  lie  out  here  all  night.  Sure,  I  hope  it  gets  no 
thicker." 

He  rowed  on  towards  Ruddy  Cove,  taking 
new  bearings  from  time  to  time  as  the  deeper 
shadows  of  the  headlands  loomed  out  of  the  dark 
of  the  night.  Thus,  he  followed  the  coast,  mak- 
ing with  great  caution  for  the  narrow  entrance  to 
the  inner  harbour,  which  invariably  was  hard  to 
find  at  night  or  in  the  fog. 

The  sea  was  breaking  against  the  rocks.  The 
noise  was  loud  in  Bobby's  ears,  and  served  to 


WAY  FROM  FORTUNE  HARBOUR  107 

guide  him  at  such  times  as  the  headlands  were 
indistinguishable  from  the  clouds.  His  progress 
was  slow  and  cautious ;  for  he  knew  the  dangers 
of  the  way  he  must  take. 

There  was  a  line  of  submerged  rocks — The 
Wrecker,  Old  Moll  and  Deep  Down — lying  out 
from  Iron  Head,  directly  in  his  path.  That 
neighbourhood  was  a  neighbourhood  of  danger. 
When  the  lad  caught  sight  of  the  strange  outline 
of  Iron  Head,  he  swerved  the  bow  of  the  boat  to 
sea  and  paddled  out.  He  wanted  to  make  sure 
of  rounding  Deep  Down,  the  outermost  rock — 
of  giving  it  a  wide  berth. 

But  the  night  and  the  noise  of  the  breakers 
confused  him.  He  could  not  tell  whether  or  not 
he  had  gone  far  enough.  At  length  he  decided 
that  he  must  be  safely  beyond  the  rock.  But 
where  was  Deep  Down?  Often  he  paused  to 
turn  and  look  ahead.  Every  glance  he  cast  was 
more  anxious  than  the  one  before.  He  was  get- 
ting nervous. 

"  'Tis  hard  t'  tell  if  the  sea  is  breakin'  on  Deep 
Down,"  he  said  to  himself.  "  Sure,  it  must  be, 
though." 

It  was  important  to  know  that.  Sometimes 
only  the  larger  swells  curl  and  break  as  they  roll 


io8  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

over  Deep  Down.  Bobby  knew  that  just  such  a 
sea  was  running  then.  Had  it  been  daylight, 
the  green  colour  and  the  slight  lifting  of  the 
water  would  have  warned  him  of  the  where- 
abouts: of  that  dangerous  reef.  But  it  was  night ; 
the  spray,  as  the  wave  was  broken  and  flung  into 
the  air,  and  the  swish  and  the  patter,  as  the  water 
fell  back,  were  the  signs  he  was  on  the  lookout 
for. 

If,  then,  the  waves  broke  only  at  long  inter- 
vals, the  punt  might  at  any  moment  be  lifted  and 
overturned.  It  might  even  then  be  floating  over 
the  rock.  Bobby's  heart  beat  faster  when  the 
greater  swells  slipped  under  the  boat.  Would 
they  break  beneath  him?  Would  they  break 
near  at  hand  ?  He  paddled  slowly.  It  was  bet- 
ter to  be  cautious,  he  thought,  until  he  had  Deep 
Down  located.  So  he  listened  and  looked  as  he 
paddled  on. 

At  last  he  heard  the  significant  swish  and  pat- 
ter. He  flashed  about  to  look  ahead.  But  he 
was  too  late.  The  spray  had  fallen  and  disap- 
peared. 

"  'Tis  somewheres  near/'  he  thought,  "  and  'tis 
breakin'.  But  whether  t'  port  or  starboard,  I 
don't  know." 


WAY  FROM  FORTUNE  HARBOUR  109 

Again — and  apparently  from  another  quarter 
— he  heard  the  noise  of  a  breaking  wave.  He 
turned  in  time  to  catch  sight  of  a  gleam  of  phos- 
phorescence off  the  port  bow. 

"  If  that's  Deep  Down,"  he  thought,  "  I'm  safe. 
But  if  'tis  Old  Moll  or  The  Wrecker,  I'm  some- 
wheres  over  Deep  Down.  I  wisht  I  knowed 
which  it  was." 

What  was  it?  The  Wrecker,  Old  Moll  or 
Deep  Down  ?  Which  one  of  the  three  rocks  that 
lay  in  a  line  off  Iron  Head  ? 

"I  wisht  I  knowed,"  Bobby  muttered,  as  he 
bent  anew  to  the  oars. 

In  the  meantime,  old  Sol  Sludge,  of  Becky 
Sharpens  cove,  which  lies  beyond  Iron  Head,  had 
started  for  Ruddy  Cove  by  the  goat  paths  to  tell 
Skipper  John  Matthews  that  he  would  take  a 
berth  in  the  schooner  Rescue  when  she  got  back 
from  the  Labrador. 

He  had  a  candle-lantern  to  light  the  way. 
When  he  had  crossed  the  Head  and  was  bound 
down  the  valley  to  meet  the  Ruddy  Cove  road, 
he  heard  a  cry  for  help.  It  came  from  the  sea, 
with  a  soft  southwest  wind  which  had  sprung  up 
sharp  "Helpl  Help!"  ringing  out  of  the 


I  io  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

darkness  again  and  again.  Old  Sol  listened 
stupidly,  until,  as  from  exhaustion,  the  cries 
turned  hoarse  and  weak. 

"  Now,  I  wonder  who's  out  there,"  the  dull  old 
fellow  thought.  "  It  sounded  like  a  woman's 
voice.  Sure,  it  may  be  the  spirit  o'  Mary  Rutt. 
She  was  drowned  off  Iron  Head." 

Nevertheless,  he  made  haste  to  Ruddy 
Cove — all  the  haste  his  old  legs  and  dim 
sight  would  permit — and  told  the  folk  that 
he  had  heard  the  cry  of  a  spirit  drift  in 
from  the  sea  off  Iron  Head.  But  nobody  be- 
lieved that. 

Who  was  in  the  water  off  Iron  Head  ?  was  the 
question  that  passed  from  cottage  to  cottage. 
Was  it  Billy  Topsail  ?  No  ;  for  Billy  told  the  folk 
in  person  that  he  had  come  in  from  the  grounds 
at  twilight.  Was  it  Josiah  Seaworthy  ?  No  ;  for 
Josiah's  wife  said  that  he  had  gone  by  way  of 
Crooked  Tickle  to  Burnt  Harbour. 

Who  was  it?  Had  Eli  Zitt's  little  partner 
got  back  from  Fortune  Harbour?  When  Eli 
Zitt  heard  of  that  cry  for  help  he  knew  that  Bob- 
by's punt  had  been  overturned  on  one  of  the 
Iron  Head  rocks.  Like  a  woman's  voice  ?  That 
surely  was  Bobby's — that  clear,  full  voice.  So 


WAY  FROM  FORTUNE  HARBOUR  in 

he  called  for  a  crew  to  man  the  skiff,  and  in  five 
minutes  he  was  ready  to  push  off. 

Old  Bruce  jumped  aboard. 

"  Get  out  with  you ! "  said  Bill  Watt,  aiming  a 
kick  at  him  by  the  light  of  the  lantern. 

"  Sc-ctt  I "  cried  old  Tom  Topsail. 

But  Bruce  was  a  practiced  stowaway.  He  slunk 
forward,  and  found  a  refuge  under  the  bow  seat. 

"  Push  off,  lads ! "  Eli  shouted.     "  Give  way ! " 

In  ten  minutes  the  skiff  had  passed  from  the 
harbour  to  the  sea.  Eli  Zitt,  who  worked  the 
scull  oar,  turned  her  bow  towards  the  Iron  Head 
rocks.  It  was  dark;  but  he  had  fished  those 
waters  from  boyhood,  and  he  knew  the  way,  day- 
light or  dark. 

Dark  it  was,  indeed !  How  was  Bobby  to  be 
found  in  that  great  shadow  ?  He  was  a  water- 
dog,  was  Bobby ;  but  there  was  a  limit  to  his  en- 
durance, and  half  an  hour  at  least  had  passed 
since  old  Sol  Sludge  had  heard  his  cry  for  help. 

A  long  search  meant  failure.  He  must  be 
found  soon  or  he  would  not  be  found  at  all.  On 
went  the  boat,  the  water  curling  from  her  bows 
and  swirling  in  her  wake.  The  phosphorescence 
flashed  and  glowed  as  the  oars  were  struck  deep 
and  lifted. 


H2  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"He'll  be  swimmin'  in,"  Bill  Watt  panted, 
when  the  skiff  had  covered  half  the  distance  to 
Deep  Down.  "  They's  no  place  for  him  t'  land 
with  this  sea  on.  We  ought  t'  meet  him  here- 
abouts." 

"  If  he's  afloat,"  Topsail  added. 

"  Oh,  he's  afloat  yet,"  Eli  said,  confidently. 
"  He's  a  strong  swimmer,  that  lad  is." 

"  I'm  thinkin1  he'll  be  nearer  shore,"  said  Bill 
Watt. 

"  No,  no !     He's  further  out  an'  on." 

"  Bobby ! "  Topsail  shouted.     "  Oh,  Bobby ! " 

There  was  no  reply.  For  a  moment  the  row- 
ers lifted  their  oars  from  the  water.  Silence  was 
all  about — from  the  boat  to  the  shore  rocks, 
where  the  waves  were  breaking.  The  cries  for 
help  had  ceased. 

"  Gone  down,"  Bill  Watt  muttered. 

The  men  gave  way  again.  Again  they  paused 
to  call  Bobby's  name,  and  to  listen,  with  anxious 
hearts,  for  some  far-off,  answering  cry.  Again 
they  gave  way.  Again  they  called  and  called, 
but  heard  no  answer. 

"  Gone  down,"  Bill  Watt  repeated. 

"  Give  way,  lads  1 "  cried  Eli.  "  He's  further 
out" 


WAY  FROM  FORTUNE  HARBOUR  113 

Old  Bruce  came  out  from  hiding.  He  crawled 
to  the  stern  seat  and  sniffed  to  windward.  Then, 
with  his  nose  pointed  astern,  he  began  to  howl. 

"  Shut  up,  you  ! "  Topsail  exclaimed. 

But  Bruce  could  not  be  quieted — not  even  after 
Topsail's  boot  had  caught  him  in  the  side  and 
brought  a  sharp  howl  of  pain.  Still  he  sniffed  to 
windward  and  barked. 

-Throw  him  over,"  said  Bill  Watt.  -We'll 
not  be  able  t'  hear  Bobby." 

"  Oh,  if  'twas  only  light  1 "  EH  groaned,  not 
heeding  Watt. 

But  it  was  dark.  The  water  was  covered  with 
deepest  shadow.  Only  the  breakers  and  the 
black  outline  of  Iron  Head  could  be  seen.  Bobby 
might  be  swimming  near  at  hand  but  too  far  off 
to  send  an  audible  shout  for  help. 

"  Bobby— oh— Bobby  !  " 

If  a  cry  in  answer  had  gone  up,  the  barking  of 
the  dog  drowned  it.  The  dog  must  be  quieted. 

"  Push  the  brute  over  ! "  said  Watt. 

Watt  himself  dropped  his  oar  and  stepped  to 
the  stern.  He  took  Bruce  unaware  and  tumbled 
him  into  the  water.  The  old  dog  made  no  pro- 
test. He  whined  eagerly  and  swam  out  from  the 
boat — a  straight  course  astern. 


1 14  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"Now,  what  did  he  do  that  for?"  mused 
Watt. 

"  That's  queer,"  said  Topsail. 

Eli  looked  deep  into  the  night.  The  dog  left 
a  luminous  wake.  Beyond,  in  the  direction  the 
dog  had  taken,  the  man  caught  sight  of  a  phos- 
phorescent glow.  Watt  saw  it  at  the  same  mo- 
ment. 

"  What's  that  ? >;  said  he.  "  They's  fiery  water, 
back  there  1 " 

"  Man,"  cried  Eli,  "  the  dog  knowed !  Sure, 
it  must  be  Bobby,  swimmin'  up,  an'  too  beat  out 
t'  cry.  Fetch  her  about,  lads.  We're  on  the 
wrong  course.  Haste  1  He'll  not  be  able  t'  last 
much  longer." 

Eli  was  right.  The  dog  had  known.  It  was 
Bobby.  When  they  picked  him  up  he  was  too 
much  exhausted  to  speak.  It  was  afterwards 
learned  that  he  had  mistaken  the  spray  of  the 
Old  Moll  breaker  for  Deep  Down  and  had  been 
turned  over  by  the  outer  rock  when  he  thought 
himself  safe.  He  had  heard  the  call  of  his  name, 
and  had  seen  the  lantern  of  the  rescuing  skiff,  as 
it  drew  near ;  but,  long  before,  he  had  worn  his 
voice  out  with  screaming  for  help,  and  could 
make  no  answer.  He  had  heard  the  barking  of 


WAY  FROM  FORTUNE  HARBOUR  115 

Bruce,  too  ;  had  known  its  significance,  and  had 
wondered  whether  or  not  the  dog  would  be  un- 
derstood. But  all  that  he  could  say,  when  they 
lifted  him  aboard — and  that  in  a  hoarse,  weak 
whisper — was : 

"  Bruce ! " 

At  that  moment  the  crew  heard  a  piteous  whine 
near  at  hand.  It  was  Bill  Watt  who  pulled  the 
exhausted  old  dog  over  the  gunwale. 

"  Good  dog  !  "  said  he. 

And  so  said  they  all. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

In  Which  Billy  Topsail  Sets  Sail  for  the  Labrador \ 
the  Rescue  Strikes  an  Iceberg,  and  Billy  is 
Commanded  to  Pump  for  His  Life 

IT  was  early  in  the  spring — a  time  of  change- 
able weather  when,  in  the  northern  seas,  the 
peril  of  drift-ice,  bergs,  snow,  wind  and  the 
dark  must  sometimes  be  met  with  short  warning. 
The    schooner    Rescue,  seventy  tons,  Job  Small, 
master,  had  supplied  the  half-starved  Labrador 
fishermen  with  flour  and  pork,  and  was  bound 
back  to  Ruddy  Cove,  in  ballast,  to  load  provi- 
sions and  shop  goods  for  the  straits  trade. 

Billy  Topsail  was  aboard.  "  I  'low,  dad,"  he 
had  said  to  his  father,  when  the  skipper  of  the 
Rescue  received  the  Government  commission 
to  proceed  North  with  supplies,  "  that  I'd  like  t' 
see  the  Labrador." 

"  You'll  see  it  many  a  time,  lad,"  his  father  had 
replied,  "  afore  you're  done  with  it." 

"  An'  Skipper  Job,"  Billy  had  persisted,  "  says 
he'll  take  me." 

The  end  of  it  was  that  Billy  was  shipped 
116 


BILLY  PUMPS  FOR  HIS  LIFE      117 

The  Rescue  had  rounded  the  cape  at  dawn, 
with  all  sails  set,  even  to  her  topmast-staysail, 
which  the  Newfoundlanders  call  the  "Tommy 
Dancer"  ;  but  now,  with  the  night  coming  down, 
she  was  laboriously  beating  into  a  head  wind 
under  jib  and  reefed  mainsail. 

"I'm  fair  ashamed  t'  have  the  canvas  off  her," 
said  Skipper  Job,  after  a  long  look  to  windward. 
"  'Tis  no  more  than  a  switch,  an'  we're  clewed 
up  for  a  snorter." 

"They's  no  one  t'  see,  sir,"  said  the  cook. 
"  That's  good ;  an'  sure  I  hopes  that  nothin' 
heaves  in  sight  t'  shame  us." 

"  Leave  us  shake  the  reef  out  o'  the  mains'l, 
sir,  an'  give  her  the  f ores' 1,"  said  the  first  hand. 

"  We're  not  in  haste,  b'y,"  the  skipper  replied. 
"  She's  doin'  well  as  she  is.  We'll  not  make 
harbour  this  night,  an'  I've  no  mind  t'  be  in  the 
neighbourhood  o'  the  Break-heart  Rocks  afore 
mornin'.  Let  her  bide." 

The  weather  thickened.  With  the  night  came 
a  storm  of  snow  in  heavy  flakes,  which  the  wind 
swept  over  the  deck  in  clouds.  There  was  noth- 
ing to  relieve  the  inky  darkness.  The  schooner 
reeled  forth  and  back  on  the  port  and  starboard 
tacks,  beating  her  way  south  as  blind  as  a  bat 


n8  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

There  was  no  rest  for  the  crew.  The  skipper 
was  at  the  wheel,  the  first  hand  on  the  lookout 
forward,  the  cook  and  the  two  other  hands 
standing  by  on  deck  for  emergencies. 

So  far  as  the  wind,  the  sea  and  the  drift-ice 
were  concerned,  the  danger  was  slight,  for  the 
Rescue  was  stoutly  built ;  but  the  sea  was  strewn 
with  vast  fields  and  mountains  of  Arctic  ice, — 
the  glacier  icebergs  which  drift  out  of  the  north 
in  the  spring — and  in  their  proximity,  in  their 
great  mass  and  changing  position,  lay  a  dread- 
ful danger. 

"  Sure,  I  wisht  you  could  chart  icebergs,"  said 
the  skipper  to  the  cook.  "But,"  he  added, 
anxiously,  "  you  can't.  They  moves  so  fast  an* 
so  peculiar  that — that — well,  I  wisht  they  didn't." 

"  I  wisht  they  wasn't  none,"  said  the  cook. 

"  Ay,  lad,"  said  the  skipper.  "  But  they  might 
be  a  wonderful  big  one  sixty  fathom  dead 
ahead  at  this  minute.  We  couldn't  see  it  if  they 
was." 

"  I  hopes  they  isn't,  sir,"  said  the  cook,  with  a 
shiver. 

The  snow  ceased  before  morning  ;  but  at  the 
peep  of  dawn  a  thick  fog  came  up  with  the  wind, 
and  when  the  light  came  it  added  nothing  to  the 


BILLY  PUMPS  FOR  HIS  LIFE      119 

tange  of  vision  from  the  bow.  The  night  had 
been  black  ;  the  dawn  was  gray.  It  was  so  thick 
that  the  man  at  the  wheel  could  not  see  beyond 
the  foremast.  The  lookout  was  lost  in  the  fog 
ahead.  Eyes  were  now  of  no  more  use  than  in 
the  depths  of  a  cloudy  night. 

But  the  schooner  had  weathered  the  night ; 
and  when  the  first  light  of  day  broke  in  the  east, 
Skipper  Job  gave  the  wheel  to  the  second  hand, 
and  went  below  with  the  cook  to  have  a  cup  of 
tea. 

"  I've  no  mind  t'  lose  her,"  said  he,  "  so  I'll 
leave  her  bowl  along  under  short  sail.  If  we 
strike,  'twill  be  so  much  the  easier." 

"  'Twould  be  a  sad  pity  t'  lose  her,"  said  the 
cook,  "  when  you've  got  her  so  near  paid  for." 

"  Ay,  that's  it,"  said  the  skipper. 

The  Rescue  had  been  built  for  young  Skipper 
Job,  after  Skipper  Job's  own  model,  by  the 
Ruddy  Cove  trader.  The  trader  was  to  share  in 
the  voyages — whether  for  Labrador  fish  or  in 
the  Shore  trade — until  she  was  paid  for.  Then 
she  would  belong  to  Skipper  Job — to  the  young 
skipper,  who  had  married  the  parson's  daughter, 
and  now  had  a  boy  of  his  own  for  whom  to  plan 
and  dream. 


120  The  AD  VENTURES*/  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

That  was  the  spring  of  his  energy  and  caution 
— that  little  boy,  who  could  no  more  than  toddle 
over  the  kitchen  floor  and  gurgle  a  greeting  to 
the  lithe  young  fellow  who  bounded  up  the  path 
to  catch  him  in  his  arms.  The  schooner  was  the 
fortune  of  the  lad  and  the  mother  ;  and  she  was 
now  all  so  nearly  Job's  own  that  another  voyage 
or  two — a  mere  four  months — might  see  the  last 
dollar  of  the  obligation  paid  over. 

"  No,"  Skipper  Job  repeated,  absently,  when 
he  had  thought  of  the  toddler  and  the  tender, 
smiling  mother,  "  I've  no  mind  t'  lose  this  here 
schooner. " 

Job  dreamed  of  the  lad  while  he  sipped  his  tea. 
They  must  make  a  parson  of  him,  if  he  had  the 
call,  the  skipper  thought ;  or  a  doctor,  perhaps. 
Whatever,  that  baby  must  never  follow  the  sea. 
No,  no !  He  must  never  know  the  hardship  and 
anxiety  of  such  a  night  as  that  just  past.  He 
must  be 

A  scream  of  warning  broke  into  the  dream : 

"  Har-rd-a-lee ! " 

Skipper  Job  heard  the  fall  of  the  feet  of  a  man 
leaping  back  from  the  bow.  There  was  meaning 
in  the  step,  in  the  haste  and  length  of  the  leaps 
— the  imminence  of  a  collision  with  the  ice. 


BILLY  PUMPS  FOR  HIS  LIFE      121 

«  All  hands  1 " 

The  skipper  had  no  more  than  leaped  to  his 
feet  when  there  was  a  stunning  crash  overhead, 
followed  on  the  instant  by  a  shock  that  stopped 
the  schooner  dead  and  made  her  quiver  from 
stem  to  stern.  The  bowsprit  was  rammed  into 
the  forecastle,  the  deck  planks  were  ripped  up, 
the  upper  works  of  the  bows  were  crushed  in,  the 
cook's  pots  and  pans  were  tumbled  about,  the 
lamp  was  broken  and  extinguished.  Job  was 
thrown  from  his  feet. 

When  he  recovered,  it  was  to  the  horror  of 
this  darkness  and  confusion — to  a  second  crash 
and  shock,  to  screams  and  trampling  overhead, 
and  to  a  rain  of  blows  upon  the  deck.  He  cried 
to  the  cook  to  follow  him  on  deck,  and  felt  his 
way  in  mad  haste  to  the  ladder ;  but  there  he 
stopped,  of  a  sudden,  with  his  foot  on  the  lowest 
step,  for  the  cook  had  made  no  reply. 

"  Cook,  b'y  ! "  he  shouted. 

There  was  no  answer.  It  was  apparent  that 
the  man  had  been  killed  or  desperately  injured. 
The  skipper  knew  the  danger  of  delayo  They 
had  struck  ice ;  the  berg  might  overturn,  some 
massive  peak  might  topple  over,  the  ship  might 
fill  and  sink.  But,  as  a  matter  of  course,  and 


122  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

with  no  thought  of  himself  as  a  hero,  he  turned 
and  made  a  groping  search  for  the  cook,  until  he 
found  the  poor  fellow  lying  unconscious  among 
his  own  pots  and  pans.  Thence  he  carried  him 
to  the  deck,  and  stretched  him  out  on  the  fore 
hatch,  with  the  foreboom  and  sail  to  protect  him 
from  the  fragments  of  ice,  which  fell  as  in  a 
shower  each  time  the  schooner  struck  the  berg. 

Billy  Topsail  caught  the  skipper  by  the  arm  in 
a  strong  grip. 

"We're  lost!"  he  cried. 

The  roaring  wind,  the  hiss  of  the  seas,  the 
shock  and  wreck,  the  sudden,  dreadful  peril,  had 
thrown  the  lad  into  a  panic.  The  skipper  per- 
ceived his  distress,  and  acted  promptly  to  restore 
him  to  his  manhood. 

"  Leave  me  free ! "  he  shouted,  with  a  scowl. 

But  Billy  tightened  his  grip  on  the  skipper's 
arm,  and  sobbed  and  whined.  The  skipper 
knocked  him  down  with  a  blow  on  the  breast ; 
then  jerked  him  to  his  feet  and  pointed  to  the 
pump. 

"  Pump  for  your  life ! "  he  commanded,  know- 
ing well  that  what  poor  Billy  needed  was  work, 
of  whatever  kind,  to  give  him  back  his  courage. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

Faithfully  Narrating  the  Amazing  Experiences 
of  a  Newfoundland  Schooner  and  Describing 
Billy  TopsaiVs  Conduct  in  a  Sinking  Boat 

THE  deck  of  the  Rescue  was  now  littered 
with  wreckage  and  casks.     Splinters  of 
the  jib-boom,  all  tangled  with  the  stand- 
ing rigging,  lay  upon  the  forward  deck.     The 
maintopmast  had  snapped  off,  and  hung  from 
the  mainmast  in  a  tangle  of  wire  and  rope. 
They  had  already  cut  the  mainsail  halyards,  and 
the  big  sail  lay  upon  the  boom,  on  the  port  side, 
in  disarrayed  folds. 

The  bows  were  high  out  of  the  water,  as  if  the 
ship  had  run  up  a  steep,  submerged  shelf  of  ice ; 
and  the  seas,  which  the  wind  of  the  night  had 
raised,  from  time  to  time  broke  over  the  stern. 
It  was  impossible,  however,  to  determine  the 
general  situation  of  the  schooner.  The  fog  was 
too  thick  for  that,  and  the  day  had  not  yet  fully 
broken.  All  that  was  revealed,  in  a  glance 
about,  was  that  upon  one  hand  lay  a  waste  of 
breaking  water,  and  upon  the  other  a  dull  white 

mass,  lifting  itself  into  the  mist 

123 


124  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"  'Tis  bad,  lads,"  said  the  skipper,  when  the 
first  and  second  hands  had  joined  him  under  the 
mainmast  shrouds. 

"  She's  lost,"  said  the  first. 

"We'll  be  takin'  t'  the  boat,"  said  the 
second. 

"  I'm  not  so  sure  that  she's  lost,"  said  the 
skipper.  "  Whatever,  we'll  not  take  t'  the  boat 
till  we  have  to." 

The  first  and  second  hands  exchanged  a 
glance,  and  together  looked  at  the  boat.  The 
swift  glance  and  look  were  a  danger-signal  to 
the  skipper. 

"  Does  you  hear  me  ? "  he  shouted,  his  voice 
ringing  out  above  the  wash  of  the  waves  and  the 
noise  of  the  wind.  "  We'll  not  leave  her.  Take 
a  spell  at  the  pump,  both  o'  you  ! " 

For  a  moment  the  skipper's  authority  was  in 
doubt.  The  men  wavered.  A  repetition  of  the 
command,  however,  with  clenched  fists  ready  to 
enforce  it,  decided  them.  They  relieved  young 
Billy. 

"  Is  the  water  gainin',  b'y?"  said  the  skipper 
to  the  lad. 

Billy  looked  up  steadily.  The  fright  had  left 
his  eyes.  He  had  recovered  his  self-possession. 


IN  A  SINKING  BOAT  125 

"  No,  sir,"  he  said,  quietly.  "  'Tis  gettin'  less 
all  the  while." 

At  that  moment  the  ship  lurched  slightly  and 
slid  off  the  shelf.  The  skipper  shouted  an  order 
to  raise  the  foresail,  and  ran  aft  to  take  the  wheel. 
But  the  fall  of  the  topmast  had  so  tangled  the 
rigging  and  jammed  the  gaff  and  boom  that 
before  the  crew  could  remove  the  unconscious 
cook  and  lift  the  sail,  the  wind  had  turned  the 
schooner  and  was  driving  her  stern  foremost,  as 
it  appeared,  on  the  ice. 

The  skipper,  from  his  station  at  the  wheel, 
calmly  observed  the  nearing  berg,  and  gave  the 
schooner  up  for  lost.  There  was  no  time  to  raise 
the  sail — no  room  for  beating  out  of  danger, 
He  saw,  too,  that  if  she  struck  with  force,  the 
quarter-boat,  which  was  swinging  from  davits 
astern,  would  be  crushed  to  splinters. 

"She's  lost!"  he  thought.  "Lost  with  all 
hands!" 

Nearer  approach,  however,  disclosed  the 
strange  fact  that  there  was  a  break  in  the  ice. 
When  the  schooner  was  still  a  few  fathoms 
nearer,  it  was  observed  that  the  great  berg  was 
in  reality  composed  of  two  masses  of  ice,  with  a 
narrow  strait  leading  between  them. 


126  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

The  light  was  now  stronger,  and  the  fog  had 
somewhat  thinned  ;  it  was  possible  to  distinguish 
shadowy  outlines — to  see  that  great  cliffs  of  ice 
descended  on  each  side  of  the  passage  to  the 
water's  edge.  Still  deeper  in  the  mist  it  was 
lighter,  as  if  the  strait  indeed  led  directly  through 
the  berg  to  the  open  sea  beyond.  The  crew  was 
gathered  aft,  breathlessly  awaiting  the  schooner's 
fate,  helpless  to  fend  or  aid ;  and  the  cook  was 
lying  on  the  roof  of  the  cabin,  where  they  had 
laid  him  down,  revived  in  part,  and  desperately 
struggling  to  recover  his  senses. 

"Lads,"  said  the  skipper,  at  last,  "the  Lord 
has  the  schooner  in  His  hands.  They's  a  way 
through  the  ice.  He's  guidin'  her  into  it,  but 
whether  He'll  save  us  or  not,  He  only  knows." 

The  Rescue  drifted  fairly  into  the  passage, 
which  was  irregular,  but  in  no  part  less  than 
twice  the  width  of  the  vessel.  She  was  swept 
on,  swinging  from  side  to  side,  striking  her  bow 
here  and  her  stern  there ;  and  with  every  shock 
fragments  of  rotten  ice  fell  in  a  shower  from 
above. 

How  soon  one  might  strike  one  of  their  num- 
ber down,  no  man  knew.  How  soon  some  great 
mass,  now  poised  in  the  mist,  might  be  dislodged 


1 


"SHE'S    LOST!"    HE    THOUGHT       "LOST    WITH    ALL    HANDS." 


IN  A  SINKING  BOAT  127 

and  crush  the  schooner  in  its  fall,  no  man  knew. 
How  soon  the  towering  cliffs  might  swing  to- 
gether and  grind  the  ship  to  splinters,  no  man 
could  tell.  Were  these  masses  of  ice  connected 
deep  down  under  water  ?  Or  were  they  floating 
free? 

There  were  no  answers  to  these  questions. 
On  went  the  schooner,  stern  foremost,  slipping 
ever  nearer  to  the  open.1 

"  Skipper,  sir,"  the  first  hand  pleaded,  "  leave 
us  launch  the  quarter-boat  an'  pull  out.  'Tis — 
'tis — too  horrible  here." 

"  Ay,  lads,  if  you  will,"  was  the  reply. 

It  was  then  discovered  that  a  block  of  ice  had 
fallen  in  the  boat  at  the  bows,  and  sprung  the 
planking.  She  was  too  leaky  to  launch ;  there 
was  nothing  for  it  but  to  wait. 

"  We'll  calk  those  leaks  as  best  we  can,"  said 
the  skipper.  "  They's  no  tellin'  what  might " 

The  stern  struck  a  projection,  and  the  bow 
swung  round  and  lodged  on  the  other  side. 
The  schooner  was  jammed  in  the  passage,  al- 
most broadside  to  the  wind.  They  made  a  shift 
at  calking  the  leaks  with  rags  and  a  square  of 

1  At  this  point  it  may  be  of  interest  to  the  reader  to  know  that  the 
incident  is  true. 


128  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

oiled  canvas.     At  all  hazards  the  schooner  must 
be  freed. 

"  We  must  get  her  off  quick,  lads  ! "  the  skip 
per  cried.     "  Come,  now,  who's  going  with  me 
in  the  boat  t'  tow?" 

"I,  sir,"  said  young  Billy,  stepping  forward 
eagerly. 

"  I,  sir,"  said  the  first  hand. 

"So  it  is,"  said  the  skipper.  "Andy,  Tom, 
when  we  hauls  her  bow  off,  do  you  stand  here 
with  a  gaff  an'  push.  Lower  away  that  boat, 
now  !  Billy,  do  you  fetch  a  bucket  for  bailin'." 

The  boat  was  launched  with  great  difficulty 
from  her  place  in  the  stern  davits.  She  began 
at  once  to  fill,  for  the  calking  had  been  ill  done, 
and  she  was  sadly  damaged.  It  took  courage 
to  leap  into  her  from  the  taffrail,  leaky  as  she 
was,  and  tossing  about ;  but  there  was  a  desper- 
ate sort  of  courage  in  the  hearts  of  the  men  who 
had  volunteered,  and  they  leaped,  one  by  one. 

Billy  fell  to  bailing,  and  the  skipper  and  the 
first  hand  rowed  forward  to  catch  the  line.  The 
line  once  caught  and  made  fast,  they  pulled  out 
with  might  and  main. 

"She's  fillin'  fast,  sir!"  Billy  gasped 

"Bail,  b'y,  bail  I" 


IN  A  SINKING  BOAT  129 

The  tow-rope  was  now  taut.  The  skipper  and 
the  first  hand  pulled  with  such  strength  that  each 
stroke  of  an  oar  made  a  hissing  little  whirlpool. 

"  JTis  gainin'  on  me  fast,  sir,"  said  Billy. 

"  Give  way !     Give  way ! "  cried  the  skipper. 

The  bow  of  the  schooner  swung  round  inch  by 
inch — so  slowly  that  the  sinking  of  the  boat 
seemed  inevitable. 

"  She'll  sink,  sir ! "  said  Billy,  in  alarm,  but  still 
bailing  steadily. 

"  Pull !    Pull ! " 

When  the  schooner  was  once  more  in  her  old 
position — stern  foremost,  and  driving  slowly 
through  the  passage — the  water  was  within  an 
inch  of  the  seats  of  the  boat,  which  was  now 
heavy  and  almost  unmanageable.  Twenty 
fathoms  of  water  lay  between  the  boat  and  the 
bow  of  the  schooner. 

"She's  goin'  down,  sir!"  said  Billy. 

"Cast  lines!"  the  skipper  shouted  to  those 
aboard. 

Water  curled  over  the  gunwales.  The  boat 
stopped  dead,  and  wavered,  on  the  point  of  sink- 
ing. Two  lines  came  whizzing  towards  her,  un- 
coiling in  their  flight.  The  one  was  caught  by 
the  first  hand,  who  threw  himself  into  the  water 


130  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

and  was  hauled  aboard.  Billy  and  the  skipper 
caught  the  other.  With  its  help  and  a  few 
strong  strokes  they  made  the  bow  chains  and 
clambered  to  the  deck. 

"She's  drivin'  finely,"  said  the  skipper,  when 
he  had  looked  around.  "  Stand  by,  there,  an'  be 
ready  with  the  fores'l!  We'll  soon  be  through." 

It  was  true  enough;  in  a  few  minutes  the 
schooner  had  safely  drifted  through  the  passage, 
and  was  making  off  from  the  berg  under  a  reefed 
foresail,  while  the  mist  cleared  and  the  sun  shone 
out,  and  the  peaks  and  cliffs  of  the  island  of  ice, 
far  astern,  shone  and  glistened.  And  three  days 
later  the  young  skipper  bounded  up  the  path  at 
Ruddy  Cove,  and  the  little  toddler  whom  he 
loved  was  at  the  kitchen  door  to  greet  him. 


CHAPTER  XV 

In  Which  the  Ruddy  Cove  Doctor  Tells  Billy  Top- 
sail and  a  Stranger  How  He  Came  to  Learn 
that  the  Longest  Way  'Round  is  Sometimes  the 
Shortest  Way  Home 

IT  was  a  quiet  evening — twilight :  with  the 
harbour  water  unruffled,  and  the  colours  of 
the  afterglow  fast  fading  from  the  sky.  Billy 
Topsail  and  the  doctor  and  a  stranger  sat  by  the 
surgery  door,  watching  the  boats  come  in  from 
the  sea,  and  their  talk  had  been  of  the  common 
dangers  of  that  life. 

"It  was  a  very  narrow  escape,"  said  the 
doctor. 

"  Crossing  the  harbour  I "  the  stranger  ex- 
claimed. "  Why,  'tis  not  two  hundred  yards ! " 

"  'Twas  my  narrowest  escape — and  'twas  all 
because  of  Billy  Topsail." 

"  Along  o'  me  !  "  cried  Billy. 

"  Ay,"  said  the  doctor ;  "  'twas  all  along  o'  you. 
Some  years  ago,"  he  continued,  "when  you 
were  a  toddler  in  pinafores,  you  were  taken  sud- 
denly ill.  It  was  a  warm  day  in  the  spring  of 
the  year.  The  ice  was  still  in  the  harbour,  locked 


132  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

in  by  the  rocks  at  the  narrows,  though  the  snow 
had  all  melted  from  the  hills,  and  green  things 
were  shooting  from  the  earth  in  the  gardens. 
The  weather  had  been  fine  for  a  week,"  the 
doctor  continued,  addressing  the  stranger,  "  Day 
by  day  the  harbour  ice  had  grown  more  unsafe, 
until,  when  Billy  was  taken  ill,  only  the  daring 
ventured  to  cross  upon  it. 

"  Billy's  father  came  rushing  into  the  surgery 
in  a  pitiable  state  of  grief  and  fright.  I  knew 
when  I  first  caught  sight  of  his  face  that  Billy 
was  ill. 

"  '  Doctor,"  said  he,  *  my  little  lad's  wonderful 
sick.  Come  quick ! ' 

"  *  Can  we  cross  by  the  ice  ? '  I  asked. 

"  '  I've  come  by  that  way,'  said  he.  '  'Tis  safe 
enough  t'  risk.  Make  haste,  doctor,  sir !  Make 
haste !  ' 

"  '  Lead  the  way ! '  said  I. 

"  He  led  so  cleverly  that  we  crossed  without 
once  sounding  the  ice.  It  was  a  zigzag  way — a 
long,  winding  course — and  I  knew  the  day  after, 
though  I  was  too  intent  upon  the  matter  in  hand 
to  perceive  it  at  the  moment,  that  only  his  expe- 
rience and  acquaintance  with  the  condition  of  the 
ice  made  the  passage  possible.  After  midnight, 


MY    LITTLE    LAD'S    WONDERFUL    SICK.      COME     QUICKI 


THE  LONGEST  WAY  HOME         133 

when  my  situation  was  one  of  extreme  peril,  I 
realized  that  the  way  had  been  neither  safe  for 
me,  who  followed,  nor  easy  for  the  man  who 
led. 

"  *  My  boy  is  dying,  doctor  1 '  said  the  mother, 
when  we  entered  the  house.  '  Oh,  save  him ! ' 

"  My  sympathy  for  the  child  and  his  parents, 
— they  loved  that  lad — no  less  than  a  certain  pro- 
fessional interest  which  takes  hold  of  a  young  phy- 
sician in  such  cases,  kept  me  at  Billy's  bedside  until 
long,  long  after  dark.  I  need  not  have  stayed  so 
long — ought  not  to  have  stayed — for  the  lad  was 
safe  and  out  of  pain ;  but  in  this  far-away  place  a 
man  must  be  both  nurse  and  doctor,  and  there  I 
found  myself,  at  eleven  o'clock  of  a  dark  night, 
worn  out,  and  anxious  only  to  reach  my  bed  by 
the  shortest  way. 

" '  I  thinks,  sir,'  said  Billy's  father,  when  I  made 
ready  to  go,  'that  I  wouldn't  go  back  by  the 
ice.' 

" '  Oh,  nonsense  ! '  said  I.  '  We  came  over  with- 
out any  trouble,  and  I'll  find  my  way  back,  never 
fear. 

"  '  I  wisht  you'd  stay  here  the  night/  said  the 
mother.  *  If  you'll  bide,  sir,  we'll  make  you  com- 
fortable.' 


134  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"  '  No,  no/  said  I.  '  I  must  get  to  my  own 
bed.1 

" '  If  you'll  not  go  round  by  the  shore,  sir,'  said 
the  man,  *  leave  me  pilot  you  across.' 

"  '  Stay  with  your  lad,'  said  I,  somewhat  testily. 
'  I'll  cross  by  the  ice.' 

"  '  'Twill  be  the  longest  way  home  the  night/ 
said  he. 

"  When  a  man  is  sleepy  and  worn  out  he  can 
be  strangely  perverse.  I  would  have  my  own 
way ;  and,  to  my  cost,  I  was  permitted  to  take 
it.  Billy's  father  led  me  down  to  the  landing- 
stage,  put  a  gaff  in  my  hand,  and  warned  me 
to  be  careful — warned  me  particularly  not  to 
take  a  step  without  sounding  the  ice  ahead 
with  my  gaff ;  and  he  brought  the  little  lesson 
to  an  end  with  a  wistful,  '  I  wisht  you  wouldn't 
risk  it.' 

"The  tone  of  his  voice,  the  earnestness  and 
warm  feeling  with  which  he  spoke,  gave  me 
pause.  I  hesitated  ;  but  the  light  in  my  surgery 
window,  shining  so  near  at  hand,  gave  me  a  vi- 
sion of  comfortable  rest,  and  I  put  the  momentary 
indecision  away  from  me. 

"  *  It  is  two  hundred  yards  to  my  surgery  by 
the  ice/  I  said,  *  and  it  is  two  miles  round  the 


THE  LONGEST  WAY  HOME         135 

harbour  by  the  road.  I'm  going  by  the  shortest 
way.' 

"  <  You'll  find  it  the  longest,  sir,'  said  he. 

"  I  repeated  my  directions  as  to  the  treatment 
of  little  Billy,  then  gave  the  man  good-night,  and 
stepped  out  on  the  ice,  gaff  in  hand.  The  three 
hours  following  were  charged  with  more  terror 
and  despair  than,  doubtless,  any  year  of  my  life 
to  come  shall  know.  I  am  not  morbidly  afraid 
of  death.  It  was  not  that — not  the  simple,  nat- 
ural fear  of  death  that  made  me  suffer.  It  was 
the  manner  of  its  coming — in  the  night,  with  the 
harbour  folk,  all  ignorant  of  my  extremity,  peace- 
fully sleeping  around  me — the  slow,  cruel  ap- 
proach of  it,  closing  in  upon  every  hand,  lying 
all  about  me,  and  hidden  from  me  by  the  night." 

The  doctor  paused.  He  looked  over  the  quiet 
water  of  the  harbour. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  repeating  the  short,  nervous 
laugh,  "it  was  a  narrow  escape.  The  sun  of 
the  afternoon — it  had  shone  hot  and  bright — had 
weakened  the  ice,  and  a  strong,  gusty  wind,  such 
a  wind  as  breaks  up  the  ice  every  spring,  was 
blowing  down  the  harbour  to  the  sea.  It  had 
overcast  the  sky  with  thick  clouds.  The  night 
was  dark.  Nothing  more  of  the  opposite  shore 


i36  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

than  the  vaguest  outline  of  the  hills — a  blacker 
shadow  in  a  black  sky — was  to  be  seen, 

"  But  I  had  the  lamp  in  the  surgery  window  to 
guide  me,  and  I  pushed  out  from  the  shore,  reso- 
lute and  hopeful.  I  made  constant  use  of  my 
gaff  to  sound  the  ice.  Without  it  I  should  have 
been  lost  before  I  had  gone  twenty  yards.  From 
time  to  time,  in  rotten  places,  it  broke  through 
the  ice  with  but  slight  pressure ;  then  I  had  to 
turn  to  right  or  left,  as  seemed  best,  keeping  to 
the  general  direction  as  well  as  I  could  all  the 
while. 

"As  I  proceeded,  treading  lightly  and  cau- 
tiously, I  was  dismayed  to  find  that  the  condition 
of  the  ice  was  worse  than  the  worst  I  had  feared. 

"  '  Ah/  thought  I,  with  a  wistful  glance  towards 
the  light  in  the  window,  *  I'll  be  glad  enough  to 
get  there/ 

"  There  were  lakes  of  open  water  in  my  path  ; 
there  were  flooded  patches,  sheets  of  thin,  rub- 
bery ice,  stretches  of  rotten  *  slob/  I  was  not 
even  sure  that  a  solid  path  to  my  surgery  wound 
through  these  dangers ;  and  if  path  there  were, 
it  was  a  puzzling  maze,  strewn  with  pitfalls,  with 
death  waiting  upon  a  misstep. 

"  Had  it  been  broad  day,  my  situation  would 


THE  LONGEST  WAY  HOME         137 

have  been  serious  enough.  In  the  night,  with 
the  treacherous  places  all  covered  up  and  hid- 
den, it  was  desperate.  I  determined  to  return ; 
but  I  was  quite  as  unfamiliar  with  the  lay  of  the 
ice  behind  as  with  the  path  ahead.  A  moment 
of  thought  persuaded  me  that  the  best  plan  was 
the  boldest — to  push  on  for  the  light  in  the  win- 
dow. I  should  have,  at  least,  a  star  to  guide  me. 
" '  I  have  not  far  to  go/  I  thought.  *  I  must 
proceed  with  confidence  and  a  common-sense 
sort  of  caution.  Above  all,  I  must  not  lose  my 


nerve/ 


"  It  was  easy  to  make  the  resolve ;  it  was  hard 
to  carry  it  out.  When  I  was  searching  for  solid 
ice  and  my  gaff  splashed  water,  when  the  ice 
offered  no  more  resistance  to  my  gaff  than  a 
similar  mass  of  sea-foam,  when  my  foothold  bent 
and  cracked  beneath  me,  when,  upon  either  side, 
lay  open  water,  and  a  narrowing,  uncertain  path 
lay  ahead,  my  nerve  was  sorely  tried. 

"  At  times,  overcome  by  the  peril  I  could  not 
see,  I  stopped  dead  and  trembled.  I  feared  to 
strike  my  gaff,  feared  to  set  my  foot  down,  feared 
to  quit  the  square  foot  of  solid  ice  upon  which  I 
stood.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  high  wind — high 
and  fast  rising  to  a  gale — I  should  have  sat  down 


138  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

and  waited  for  the  morning.  But  there  were 
ominous  sounds  abroad,  and,  although  I  knew 
little  about  the  ways  of  ice,  I  felt  that  the  break- 
up would  come  before  the  dawn.  There  was 
nothing  for  it  but  to  go  on. 

"  And  on  I  went ;  but  at  last — the  mischance 
was  inevitable — my  step  was  badly  chosen.  My 
foot  broke  through,  and  I  found  myself,  of  a  sud- 
den, sinking.  I  threw  myself  forward,  and  fell 
with  my  arms  spread  out ;  thus  I  distributed  my 
weight  over  a  wider  area  of  ice  and  was  borne  up. 

"For  a  time  I  was  incapable  of  moving  a 
muscle ;  the  surprise,  the  rush  of  terror,  the  shock 
of  the  fall,  the  sudden  relief  of  finding  myself  safe 
for  the  moment  had  stunned  me.  So  I  lay  still, 
hugging  the  ice ;  for  how  long  I  cannot  tell,  but 
I  know  that  when  I  recovered  my  self-possession 
my  first  thought  was  that  the  light  was  still  burn- 
ing in  the  surgery  window — an  immeasurable 
distance  away.  I  must  reach  that  light,  I  knew  ; 
but  it  was  a  long  time  before  I  had  the  courage 
to  move  forward. 

"Then  I  managed  to  get  the  gaff  under  my 
chest,  so  that  I  could  throw  some  part  of  my 
weight  upon  it,  and  began  to  crawl.  The  prog- 
ress was  inch  by  inch — slow  and  toilsome,  with 


THE  LONGEST  WAY  HOME         139 

no  moment  of  security  to  lighten  it.  I  was 
keenly  aware  of  my  danger ;  at  any  moment,  as 
I  knew,  the  ice  might  open  and  let  me  in. 

"  I  had  gained  fifty  yards  or  more,  and  had 
come  to  a  broad  lake,  which  I  must  round,  when 
the  light  in  the  window  went  out. 

"  *  Elizabeth  has  given  me  up  for  the  night/  I 
thought  in  despair.  *  She  has  blown  out  the  light 
and  gone  to  bed.' 

"  There  was  now  no  point  of  light  to  mark  my 
goal.  It  was  very  dark  ;  and  in  a  few  minutes  1 
was  lost.  I  had  the  wind  to  guide  me,  it  is  true ; 
but  I  soon  mistrusted  the  wind.  It  was  veering, 
it  had  veered,  I  thought ;  it  was  not  possible  for 
me  to  trust  it  implicitly.  In  whatever  direction  I 
set  my  face  I  fancied  that  the  open  sea  lay  that 
way. 

"Again  and  again  I  started,  but  upon  each 
occasion  I  had  no  sooner  begun  to  crawl  than  I 
fancied  that  I  had  mischosen  the  way.  Of  course 
I  cried  for  help,  but  the  wind  swept  my  frantic 
screams  away,  and  no  man  heard  them.  The 
moaning  and  swish  of  the  gale,  as  it  ran  past 
the  cottages,  drowned  my  cries.  The  sleepers 
were  not  alarmed. 

"  Meanwhile  that  same  wind  was  breaking  up 


140  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

the  ice.  I  could  hear  the  cracking  and  grinding 
long  before  I  felt  the  motion  of  the  pan  upon 
which  I  lay.  But  at  last  I  did  feel  that  mass  of 
ice  turn  and  gently  heave,  and  then  I  gave  my- 
self up  for  lost. 

"  *  Doctor !     Doctor  ! ' 

"  The  voice  came  from  far  to  windward.  The 
wind  caught  my  answering  shout  and  carried  it 
out  to  sea. 

"  *  They  will  not  hear  me/  I  thought.  '  They 
will  not  come  to  help  me/ 

"  The  light  shone  out  from  the  surgery  win- 
dow again.  Then  lights  appeared  in  the  neigh- 
bouring houses,  and  passed  from  room  to  room. 
There  had  been  an  alarm.  But  my  pan  was 
breaking  up!  Would  they  find  me  in  time? 
Would  they  find  me  at  all  ? 

"  Lanterns  were  now  gleaming  on  the  rocks 
back  of  my  wharf.  Half  a  dozen  men  were  com- 
ing down  on  the  run,  bounding  from  rock  to 
rock  of  the  path.  By  the  light  of  the  lanterns  I 
saw  them  launch  a  boat  on  the  ice  and  drag  it 
out  towards  me.  From  the  edge  of  the  shore  ice 
they  let  it  slip  into  the  water,  pushed  off  and 
came  slowly  through  the  opening  lanes  of  water, 
calling  my  name  at  intervals. 


THE  LONGEST  WAY  HOME         141 

"  The  ice  was  fast  breaking  and  moving  out. 
When  they  caught  my  hail  they  were  not  long 
about  pushing  the  boat  to  where  I  lay.  Nor,  you 
may  be  sure,  was  I  long  about  getting  aboard." 

The  doctor  laughed  nervously. 

"  Doctor,"  said  the  stranger,  "  how  did  they 
know  that  you  were  in  distress?" 

"Oh,"  said  the  doctor,  "  it  was  Billy's  father. 
He  was  worried,  and  walked  around  by  the  shore. 
When  he  found  that  I  was  not  home,  he  roused 
the  neighbours." 

"  As  the  proverb  runs,"  said  the  stranger,  "  the 
longest  way  round  is  sometimes  the  shortest  way 
home." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  doctor,  "  I  chose  the  longest 
way." 


CHAPTER  XVI 

Describing  How  Billy  Topsail  Set  out  for  Ruddy 
Cove  with  Her  Majesty's  Mail  and  Met  with 
Catastrophe 

THROUGH  the  long,  evil-tempered  win- 
ter, when  ice  and  high  winds  keep  the 
coasting    boats   from   the  outports,  the 
Newfoundland  mails  are  carried  by  hand  from  set- 
tlement to  settlement,  even  to  the  farthermost 
parts  of  the  bleak  peninsular  to  the  north. 

Arch  Butt's  link  in  the  long  chain  was  from 
Burnt  Bay  to  Ruddy  Cove.  Once  a  week,  come 
wind,  blizzard  or  blinding  sunlight,  with  four  dol- 
lars and  a  half  to  reward  him  at  the  end  of  it,  he 
made  the  eighty  miles  of  wilderness  and  sea,  back 
and  forth,  with  the  mail-bag  on  his  broad  back. 

No  man  of  the  coast,  save  he,  dared  face  that 
stretch  in  all  weathers.  It  may  be  that  he 
tramped  a  league,  skated  a  league,  sailed  a 
league,  sculled  a  league,  groped  his  way  through 
a  league  of  night,  breasted  his  way  through  a 
league  of  wind,  picked  his  way  over  a  league  of 
shifting  ice. 

To  be  sure,   he  chose  the  way  which  best 
142 


HER  MAJESTY'S  MAIL  143 

favoured  his  progress  and  least  frayed  the  thread 
upon  which  his  life  hung. 

"  Seems  t'  me,  b'y,"  he  said  to  his  mate  from 
New  Bay,  when  the  great  gale  of  '98  first  ap- 
peared in  the  northeast  sky — "  seems  t'  me  we 
may  make  Duck  Foot  Cove  the  night,  safe 
enough." 

"  Maybe,  lad,"  was  the  reply,  after  a  long,  du- 
bious survey  of  the  rising  clouds.  "  Maybe  we'll 
get  clear  o'  the  gale,  but  'twill  be  a  close  call, 
whatever  (at  any  rate)." 

"  Maybe,"  said  Arch.  "  'Twould  be  well  t'  get 
Her  Majesty's  mail  so  far  as  Duck  Foot  Cove, 
whatever." 

When  Arch  Butt  made  Duck  Foot  Cove  that 
night,  he  was  on  the  back  of  his  mate,  who  had 
held  to  him,  through  all  peril,  with  such  courage 
as  makes  men  glorious.  Ten  miles  up  the  bay, 
his  right  foot  had  been  crushed  in  the  ice,  which 
the  sea  and  wind  had  broken  into  unstable  frag- 
ments. Luff  of  New  Bay  had  left  him  in  the  cot- 
tage of  Billy  Topsail's  uncle,  Saul  Ride,  by  the 
Head,  the  only  habitation  in  the  cove,  and  made 
the  best  of  his  own  way  to  the  harbours  of  the 
west  coast  of  the  bay.  Three  days'  delay  stared 
the  Ruddy  Cove  mailman  in  the  face. 


144  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"  Will  you  not  carry  the  mail  f  Ruddy  Cove, 
Saul  Ride  ?  "  he  demanded,  when  he  had  dressed 
his  foot,  and  failed,  stout  as  he  was,  to  bear  the 
pain  of  resting  his  weight  upon  it. 

"'Tis  too  far  in  a  gale  for  my  old  legs,"  said 
Ride,  "an' " 

"  But  'tis  Her  Majesty's  mail ! "  cried  Arch. 
"  Won't  you  try,  b'y  ?  " 

"  An  I  had  a  chance  t'  make  it,  I'd  try,  quick 
enough,"  said  Ride  sharply;  "but  'twould  be 
not  only  me  life,  but  the  mail  I'd  lose.  The  ice 
do  be  broken  up  'tween  here  an'  Creepy  Bluff ; 
an'  not  even  Arch  Butt,  hisself,  could  walk  the 
hills." 

"Three  days  lost!"  Arch  groaned.  "All  the 
letters  three  days  late!  An'  all " 

"  Letters  ! "  Ride  broke  in  scornfully.  "  Lek 
ters,  is  it  ?  Don't  you  fret  about  they.  A  love 
letter  for  the  parson's  daughter ;  the  price  o'  fish 
from  St.  John's  for  the  old  skipper  ;  an'  a  mer- 
chant's account  for  every  fisherman  t'  the  har- 
bour :  they  be  small  things  t'  risk  life  for." 

The  mailman  laid  his  hand  on  the  leather  bag 
at  his  side.  He  fingered  the  government  seal 
tenderly  and  his  eyes  flashed  splendidly  when  he 
looked  up. 


HER  MAJESTY'S  MAIL  145 

"Tis  Her  Majesty's  mail!"  he  said.  "Her 
Majesty's  mail !  Who  knows  what  they  be  in 
this  bag.  Maybe,  b'y — maybe — maybe  they's  a 
letter  for  old  Aunt  Esther  Bludgel.  She've 
waited  this  three  year  for  a  letter  from  that  boy," 
he  continued.  "  Maybe  'tis  in  there  now.  Sure, 
b'y,  an'  I  believe  'its  in  there.  Saul  Ride,  the 
mail  must  go ! " 

A  touch  of  the  bruised  foot  on  the  floor  brought 
the  mailman  groaning  to  his  chair  again.  If  the 
mail  were  to  go  to  Ruddy  Cove  that  night,  it  was 
not  to  be  carried  on  his  back :  that  much  was 
evident.  Saul  Ride  gazed  at  him  steadily  for  a 
moment.  Something  of  the  younger  man's  fine 
regard  for  duty  communicated  itself  to  him. 
There  had  been  a  time — the  days  of  his  strength 
— when  he,  too,  would  have  thought  of  duty  be- 
fore danger.  He  went  abstractly  to  the  foot  of 
the  loft  stair. 

"Billy!"  he  called.     "Billy!" 

"  Ay,  Uncle  Saul,"  was  the  quick  response. 

"  I  wants  you,  b'y." 

Billy  Topsail  came  swiftly  down  the  stair. 
He  was  spending  a  week  with  his  lonely  Uncle 
Saul  at  Duck  Foot  Cove.  A  summons  at  that 
hour  meant  pressing  service — need  of  haste. 


I46  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

What  was  the  call?  Were  they  all  well  at 
home  ?  He  glanced  from  one  man  to  the  other. 

"  B'y,"  said  Ride,  with  a  gesture  towards  the 
mail-bag,  "  will  you  carry  that  bag  to  Ruddy 
Cove?  Will " 

"  Will  you  carry  Her  Majesty's  mail  t'  Ruddy 
Cove  ? "  Arch  Butt  burst  out.  His  voice 
thrilled  Billy,  as  he  continued :  "  Her  Majesty's 
mail  1 " 

"'Tis  but  that  black  bag,  b'y,"  Ride  said 
quietly.  "Will  you  take  it  t'  Ruddy  Cove 
t' -night  ?  Please  yourself  about  it." 

"  Ay,"  said  Billy  quickly.     "  When  ?  " 

"  Twill  be  light  enough  in  four  hours,"  said 
the  mailman. 

"  Go  back  t'  bed,  b'y,"  Ride  said.  "  I'll  wake 
you  when  'tis  time  t'  be  off." 

Five  minutes  later  the  boy  was  sound  asleep. 

No  Newfoundlander  ventures  out  upon  the  ice 
without  his  gaff — a  nine-foot  pole,  made  of  light, 
tough  dog-wood,  and  iron-shod.  It  was  with 
his  own  true  gaff  that  Billy  felt  his  way  out  of 
Duck  Foot  Cove  as  the  night  cleared  away. 

The  sea  had  abated  somewhat  with  the  wind, 
In  the  bay  beyond  the  cove,  the  broken  ice  was 


HER  MAJESTY'S  MAIL  147 

freezing  into  one  vast,  rough  sheet,  solid  as  the 
coast  rocks  on  the  pans,  but  unsafe,  and  de- 
ceptive over  the  channels  between.  The  course 
was  down  the  bay,  skirting  the  shore,  to  Creepy 
Bluff,  then  overland  to  Ruddy  Cove,  which 
is  a  port  of  the  open  sea:  in  all,  twenty-one 
miles,  with  the  tail  of  the  gale  to  beat  against. 

"Feel  every  step  o'  the  way  till  the  light 
comes  strong,"  had  been  old  Saul  Ride's  last 
word  to  the  boy.  "  Strike  hard  with  your  gaff 
before  you  put  your  foot  down." 

Billy  kept  his  gaff  before  him — feeling  his 
way  much  as  a  blind  man  taps  the  pavement 
as  he  goes  along  a  city  street.  The  search  for 
solid  ice  led  him  this  way  and  that,  but  his 
progress  towards  Creepy  Bluff,  the  shadowy 
outline  of  which  he  soon  could  see,  steadily 
continued.  He  surmised  that  it  was  still  blow- 
ing hard  in  the  open,  beyond  the  shelter  of  the 
islands ;  and  he  wondered  if  the  wind  would 
sweep  him  off  his  feet  when  he  essayed  to 
cross  Sloop  Run,  down  which  it  ran,  unbroken, 
from  the  sea  to  the  bluff. 

"  Her  Majesty's  mail !  "  he  muttered,  echoing 
the  thrill  in  the  mailman's  voice.  "  Her  Majesty's 
mail!" 


148  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

When  the  light  was  stronger — but  it  was  not 
yet  break  of  day — he  thought  to  make  greater 
haste  by  risking  more.  Now  and  again  he 
chanced  himself  on  a  suspicious-looking  black 
sheet  Now  and  again  he  ran  nimbly  over 
many  yards  of  rubber  ice,  which  yielded  and 
groaned,  but  did  not  break.  Often  he  ventured 
where  Arch  Butt  would  not  have  dared  take  his 
massive  body.  All  this  he  did,  believing  always 
that  he  should  not  delay  the  Gull  Arm  mailman, 
who  might  even  then  be  waiting  for  him  in 
Ruddy  Cove. 

But  when  he  had  covered  six  miles  of  the 
route,  he  came  to  a  wide  channel  which  was 
not  yet  frozen  over.  It  lay  between  two  large 
pans.  How  far  he  might  have  to  diverge  from 
his  course  to  cross  without  risk,  he  could  not 
tell.  He  was  impressed  with  the  fact  that,  once 
across,  the  way  lay  clear  before  him — a  long 
stretch  of  solid  ice. 

uSure,  I  must  cross  here,"  he  thought. 

He  sought  for  a  large  cake  of  floating  ice, 
that  he  might  ferry  himself  across  with  his  gaff. 
None  great  enough  to  bear  his  weight  was  to 
be  seen — none,  at  least,  within  reach  of  his  gaff. 
There  were  small  cakes  a-plenty;  these  were 


HER  MAJESTY'S  MAIL  149 

fragments  heavy  enough  to  bear  him  for  but  an 
instant.  Could  he  cross  on  them  ?  He  thought 
he  might  leap  from  one  to  the  other  so  swiftly 
that  none  would  be  called  upon  to  sustain  his 
full  weight,  and  thus  pass  safely  over. 

With  care  he  chose  the  path  he  would  follow. 
Then,  without  hesitation,  he  leaped  for  the  first 
cake — passed  to  the  second — to  the  third — to  the 
fourth — stepping  so  lightly  from  one  to  the 
other  that  the  water  did  not  touch  the  soles  of 
his  boots.  In  a  moment,  he  was  whistling  on 
his  way  on  the  other  side,  leaving  the  channel 
ice  bobbing  excitedly  behind  him. 

Soon  he  broke  off  whistling  and  began  to  sing. 
On  he  trudged,  piping  merrily  : 

'Way  down  on  Pigeon  Pond  Island, 
When  daddy  comes  home  from  swilin',1 

Cakes  and  tea  for  breakfast, 

Pork  and  duff  for  dinner, 

Cakes  and  tea  for  supper, 
'Way  down  on  Pigeon  Pond  Island. 

At  noon  he  came  to  an  expanse  of  bad  ice. 
He  halted  at  the  edge  of  it  to  eat  a  bit  of  the 
hard  bread  and  dried  venison  in  his  nunny-bag. 

1  Sealing. 


150  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

Then,  forward  again !  He  advanced  with  great 
caution,  sounding  every  step,  on  the  alert  for 
thin  places.  A  mile  of  this  and  he  had  grown 
weary.  He  was  not  so  quick,  not  so  sure,  in  his 
estimate  of  the  strength  of  the  ice.  The  wind, 
now  blowing  in  stronger  gusts,  brought  the 
water  to  his  eyes  and  impaired  his  sight.  He 
did  not  regret  his  undertaking,  but  he  began 
ardently  to  wish  that  Creepy  Bluff  were  nearer. 
Thus  moved,  his  pace  increased — with  ever- 
increasing  peril  to  himself.  He  must  make 
haste  1 

What  befell  the  boy  came  suddenly.  He 
trusted  his  feet  to  a  drift  of  snow.  Quick  as  a 
flash,  and  all  unready,  he  was  submerged  in  the 
water  beneath. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

Billy  Topsail  Wrings  Out  His  Clothes  and  Finds 
Himself  Cut  off  From  Shore  by  Thirty  Yards 
of  Heaving  Ice 

BILLY  could  swim — could  swim  like  any 
Newfoundland  dog  bred  in  Green  Bay. 
Moreover,  the  life  he  led — the  rugged, 
venturesome  calling  of  the  shore  fishermen — had 
inured  him  to  sudden  danger.     First  of  all  he 
freed   himself  from  the   cumbersome   mail-bag. 
He  would  not  have  abandoned  it  had  he  not  been 
in  such  case  as  when,  as  the  Newfoundlanders 
say,  it  was  "  every  hand  for  his  life." 

Then  he  made  for  the  surface  with  swift,  strong 
strokes.     A  few  more  strokes  brought  him  to  the 
edge  of  the  ice.     He  clambered  out,  still  gasping 
for  breath,  and  turned  about  to  account  to  him 
self  for  his  predicament. 

The  drift  of  snow  had  collapsed  ;  he  observed 
that  it  had  covered  some  part  of  a  wide  hole,  and 
that  the  exposed  water  was  almost  of  a  coloui 
with  the  ice  beyond — a  polished  black.  Hence, 
he  did  not  bitterly  blame  himself  for  the  false 

15* 


152  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

step,  as  he  might  have  done  had  he  plunged 
himself  into  obvious  danger  through  careless- 
ness. He  did  not  wonder  that  he  had  been 
deceived. 

Her  Majesty's  mail,  so  far  as  the  boy  could 
determine,  was  slowly  sinking  to  the  bottom  of 
the  bay. 

There  was  no  help  in  regret.  To  escape  from 
the  bitter  wind  and  the  dusk,  now  fast  falling, 
was  the  present  duty.  He  could  think  of  all  the 
rest  when  he  had  leisure  to  sit  before  the  fire  and 
dream.  He  took  off  his  jacket  and  wrung  it  out 
— a  matter  of  some  difficulty,  for  it  was  already 
stiff  with  frost.  His  shirt  followed — then  his 
boots  and  his  trousers.  Soon  he  was  stripped  to 
his  rosy  skin.  The  wind,  sweeping  in  from  the 
open  sea,  stung  him  as  it  whipped  past. 

When  the  last  garment  was  wrung  out  he  was 
shivering,  and  his  teeth  were  chattering  so  fast 
that  he  could  not  keep  them  still.  Dusk  soon 
turns  to  night  on  this  coast,  and  the  night  comes 
early.  There  was  left  but  time  enough  to  reach 
the  first  of  the  goat-paths  at  Creepy  Bluff,  two 
miles  away — not  time  to  finish  the  overland 
tramp  to  Ruddy  Cove — before  darkness  fell. 

When    he  was    about  to   dress,   his    glance 


CUT  OFF  FROM  SHORE  153 

chanced  to  pass  over  the  water.  The  mail-bag — 
it  could  be  nothing  else — was  floating  twenty 
yards  off  the  ice.  It  had  been  prepared  with 
cork  for  such  accidents,  which  not  infrequently 
befall  it. 

"'Tis  Her  Majesty's  mail,  b'y,"  Billy  could 
hear  the  mailman  say. 

"  But  'tis  more  than  I  can  carry  t'  Ruddy  Cove 
now,"  he  thought. 

Nevertheless,  he  made  no  move  to  put  on  his 
shirt.  He  continued  to  look  at  the  mail-bag. 
"'Tis  the  mail — gov'ment  mail,"  he  thought 
again.  Then,  after  a  rueful  look  at  the  water : 
"Sure,  nobody'll  know  that  it  floated.  'Tis  as 
much  as  I  can  do  t'  get  myself  safe  t'  Gull  Cove. 
I'd  freeze  on  the  way  t'  Ruddy  Cove." 

There  was  no  comfort  in  these  excuses.  There, 
before  him,  was  the  bag.  It  was  in  plain  sight. 
It  had  not  sunk.  He  would  fail  in  his  duty  to 
the  country  if  he  left  it  floating  there.  It  was  an 
intolerable  thought ! 

"'Tist'  Ruddy  Cove  I'll  take  that  bag  this 
day,"  he  muttered. 

He  let  himself  gingerly  into  the  water,  and 
struck  out.  It  was  bitter  cold,  but  he  persevered, 
with  fine  courage,  until  he  had  his  arm  safely 


154  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

linked  through  the  strap  of  the  bag.  It  was  the 
country  he  served !  In  some  vague  form  this 
thought  sounded  in  his  mind,  repeating  itself 
again  and  again,  while  he  swam  for  the  ice  with 
the  bag  in  tow. 

He  drew  himself  out  with  much  difficulty, 
hauled  the  mail-bag  after  him,  and  proceeded  to 
dress  with  all  speed.  His  clothes  were  frozen 
stiff,  and  he  had  to  beat  them  on  the  ice  to  soften 
them  ;  but  the  struggle  to  don  them  sent  the  rich 
blood  rushing  through  his  body,  and  he  was 
warmed  to  a  glow. 

On  went  the  bag,  and  off  went  the  boy.  When 
he  came  to  the  firmer  ice,  and  Creepy  Bluff  was 
within  half  a  mile,  the  wind  carried  this  cheery 
song  up  the  bay : 

Lukie's  boat  is  painted  green, 

The  finest  boat  that  ever  was  seen ; 

Lukie's  boat  has  cotton  sails, 

A  juniper  rudder  and  galvanized  nails. 

At  Creepy  Bluff,  which  the  wind  strikes  with 
full  force,  the  ice  was  breaking  up  inshore.  The 
gale  had  risen  with  the  coming  of  the  night 
Great  seas  spent  their  force  beneath  the  ice — 
cracking  it,  breaking  it,  slowly  grinding  it  to 
pieces  against  the  rocks. 


CUT  OFF  FROM  SHORE  155 

The  Bluff  marks  the  end  of  the  bay.  No  ice 
forms  beyond.  Thus  the  waves  swept  in  with 
unbroken  power,  and  were  fast  reducing  the 
shore  cakes  to  a  mass  of  fragments.  Paul  was 
cut  off  from  the  shore  by  thirty  yards  of  heaving 
ice.  No  bit  of  it  would  bear  his  weight;  nor,  so 
fine  had  it  been  ground,  could  he  leap  from  place 
to  place  as  he  had  done  before. 

"  'Tis  sprawl  I  must,"  he  thought. 

The  passage  was  no  new  problem.  He  had 
been  in  such  case  more  than  once  upon  his  return 
from  the  offshore  seal-hunt.  Many  fragments 
would  together  bear  him  up,  where  few  would 
sink  beneath  him.  He  lay  flat  on  his  stomach, 
and,  with  the  gaff  to  help  support  him,  crawled 
out  from  the  solid  place,  dragging  the  bag.  His 
body  went  up  and  down  with  the  ice.  Now  an 
arm  was  thrust  through,  again  a  leg  went  under 
water. 

Progress  was  fearfully  slow.  Inch  by  inch  he 
gained  on  the  shore  —  crawling  —  crawling 
steadily.  All  the  while  he  feared  that  the  great 
pans  would  drift  out  and  leave  the  fragments 
room  to  disperse.  Once  he  had  to  spread  wide 
his  arms  and  legs  and  pause  until  the  ice  wa$ 
packed  closer. 


I56  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"  Two  yards  more — only  two  yards  more ! "  he 
could  say  at  last. 

Once  on  the  road  to  Ruddy  Cove,  which  he 
well  knew,  his  spirits  rose ;  and  with  a  cheery 
mood  came  new  strength.  It  was  a  rough  road, 
up  hill  and  down  again,  through  deep  snowdrifts 
and  over  slippery  rocks.  Night  fell ;  but  there 
was  light  enough  to  show  the  way,  save  in  the 
deeper  valleys,  and  there  he  had  to  struggle  along 
as  best  he  might. 

Step  after  step,  hill  after  hill,  thicket  after 
thicket :  cheerfully  he  trudged  on ;  for  the  mail- 
bag  was  safe  on  his  back,  and  Ruddy  Cove  was 
but  three  miles  distant.  Three  was  reduced  to 
two,  two  to  one,  one  to  the  last  hill. 

From  the  crest  of  Ruddy  Rock  he  could  look 
down  on  the  lights  of  the  harbour — yellow  lights, 
lying  in  the  shadows  of  the  valley.  There  was  a 
light  in  the  post-office.  They  were  waiting  for 
him  there — waiting  for  their  letters — waiting  to 
send  the  mail  on  to  the  north.  In  a  few  minutes 
he  could  say  that  Her  Majesty's  mail  had  been 
brought  safe  to  Ruddy  Cove. 

"Be  the  mail  come?" 

Billy  looked  up  from  his  seat  by  the  roaring 


CUT  OFF  FROM  SHORE  157 

fire  in  the  post-office.  An  old  woman  had  come 
in.  There  was  a  strange  light  in  her  eyes — the 
light  of  a  hope  which  survives,  spite  of  repeated 
disappointment. 

"  Sure,  Aunt  Esther  ;  'tis  here  at  last." 

"  Be  there  a  letter  for  me  ?  " 

Billy  hoped  that  there  was.  He  longed  to  see 
those  gentle  eyes  shine — to  see  the  famished  look 
disappear. 

"  No,  Aunt  Esther ;  'tis  not  come  yet  Maybe 
'twill  come  next " 

"  Sure,  I've  waited  these  three  year,"  she  said, 
with  a  trembling  lip.  "  'Tis  from  me  son " 

"  Ha ! "  cried  the  postmaster.  "  What's  this? 
Tis  all  blurred  by  the  water.  '  Missus  E — s — B 
— 1 — g — e — 1.'  Sure,  'tis  you,  woman.  'Tis  a 
letter  for  you  at  last !  " 

"  Tis  from  me  son ! "  the  old  woman  muttered 
eagerly.  "  'Tis  t'  tell  me  where  he  is,  an' — an' — 
when  he's  comin'  home.  Thank  God,  the  mail 
came  safe  the  night." 

What  if  Billy  had  left  the  mail-bag  to  soak  and 
sink  in  the  waters  of  the  bay?  What  if  he  had 
failed  in  his  duty  to  the  people?  How  many 
other  such  letters  might  there  not  be  in  that  bag 
for  the  mothers  and  fathers  of  the  northern  ports  ? 


158  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"  Thank  God,"  he  thought,  "  that  Her  Maj- 
esty's mail  came  safe  the  night ! " 

Then  he  went  off  home,  and  met  Bobby  Lot 
on  the  way. 

"  Hello  ! "  said  Bobby.     "  Got  back  ?  " 

"  Hello  yourself !  "  said  Billy.     "  I  did  " 

They  eyed  each  other  delightedly  ;  they  were 
too  boyish  to  shake  hands. 

"  How's  the  ice  ?  "  asked  Bobby  Lot 

"  Not  bad,"  said  Billy. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

In  Which  Billy  Topsail  Joins  the  Whaler  Viking 
and  a  School  is  Sighted 

OF  a  sunny  afternoon  the  Newfoundland 
coastal  steamer  Clyde  dropped  Billy 
Topsail  at  Snook's  Arm,  the  lair  of  the 
whaler  Viking :  a  deep,  black  inlet  of  the  sea, 
fouled  by  the  blood  and  waste  flesh  of  forgotten 
victims,  from  the  slimy  edge  of  which,  where  a 
score  of  whitewashed  cottages  were  squatted, 
the  rugged  hills  lifted  their  heads  to  the  clean 
blue  of  the  sky  and  fairly  held  their  noses.  It 
was  all  the  manager's  doing.  Billy  had  but  given 
him  direction  through  the  fog  from  Mad  Mull  to 
the  landing  place  of  the  mail-boat.  This  was  at 
Ruddy  Cove,  in  the  spring,  when  the  manager 
was  making  an  annual  visit  to  the  old  skipper. 

"  If  you  want  a  berth  for  the  summer,  Billy," 
he  had  said,  "you  can  be  ship's  boy  on  the 
Viking." 

On  the  Viking — the  whaler  !  Billy  was  not  in 
doubt.  And  so  it  came  to  pass,  in  due  course  of 
time,  that  the  Clyde  dropped  him  at  Snook's 
Arm. 

•59 


160  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

At  half-past  three  of  the  next  morning,  when  the 
dark  o'  night  was  but  lightened  by  a  rosy  promise 
out  to  sea,  the  Viking's  lines  were  cast  off.  At 
half  speed  the  little  steamer  moved  out  upon  the 
quiet  waters  of  the  Arm,  where  the  night  still  lay 
thick  and  cold — slipped  with  a  soft  chug  !  chug  ! 
past  the  high,  black  hills ;  factory  and  cottages 
melting  with  the  mist  and  shadows  astern,  and 
the  new  day  glowing  in  the  eastern  sky.  She 
was  an  up-to-date,  wide-awake  little  monster, 
with  seventy-five  kills  to  her  credit  in  three 
months,  again  composedly  creeping  from  the  lair 
to  the  hunt,  equipped  with  deadly  weapons  of 
offense. 

"  'Low  we'll  get  one  the  day,  sir  ?  "  Billy  asked 
the  cook. 

"  Wonderful  quiet  day,"  replied  the  cook,  dubi- 
ously. "  Twill  be  hard  fishin'." 

The  fin-back  whale  is  not  a  stupid,  passive 
monster,  to  be  slaughtered  off-hand ;  nor  is  the 
sea  a  well-ordered  shambles.  Within  the  experi- 
ence of  the  Vikings  captain,  one  fin-back  wrecked 
a  schooner  with  a  quick  slap  of  the  tail,  and 
another  looked  into  the  forecastle  of  an  iron 
whaler  from  below.  The  fin-back  is  the  biggest, 
fleetest,  shyest  whale  of  them  all ;  until  an  in- 


ABOARD  THE  WHALER  i6x 

genious  Norwegian  invented  the  harpoon  gun, 
they  wallowed  and  multiplied  in  the  Newfound- 
land waters  undisturbed.  They  were  quite  safe 
from  pursuit ;  no  whaler  of  the  old  school 
dreamed  of  taking  after  them  in  his  cockle  shell 
— they  were  too  wary  and  fleet  for  that. 

"Ay,"  the  cook  repeated  ;  "on  a  day  like  this 
a  whale  can. play  with  the  Viking" 

The  Viking  was  an  iron  screw-steamer, 
designed  for  chasing  whales,  and  for  nothing  else. 
She  was  mostly  engines,  winches  and  gun.  She 
could  slip  along,  without  much  noise,  at  sixteen 
knots  an  hour  ;  and  she  could  lift  sixty  tons  from 
the  bottom  of  the  sea  with  her  little  finger.  Her 
gun — the  swivel  gun,  with  a  three-inch  bore, 
pitched  at  the  bow,  clear  of  everything — could 
drive  a  four-foot,  1 23-pound  harpoon  up  to  the 
hilt  in  the  back  of  a  whale  if  within  range ;  and 
the  harpoon  itself — it  protruded  from  the  muzzle 
of  the  gun,  with  the  rope  attached  to  the  shaft 
and  coiled  below — was  a  deadly  missile.  It  was 
tipped  with  an  iron  bomb,  which  was  designed  to 
explode  in  the  quarry's  vitals  when  the  rope 
snapped  taut,  and  with  half  a  dozen  long  barbs, 
which  were  to  spread  and  take  hold  at  the  same 
instant 


162  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"Well,"  Billy  Topsail  sighed,  his  glance  on 
the  gun  and  the  harpoon,  "  if  they  hits  a  whale, 
that  there  arrow  ought  t'  do  the  work !  " 

"  It  does,"  said  the  cook,  quietly. 

All  morning  long,  they  were  all  alive  on  deck 
—every  man  of  that  Norwegian  crew,  from  the 
grinning  man  in  the  crow's  nest,  which  was 
lashed  to  a  stubby  yellow  mast,  to  the  captain  on 
the  gun  platform,  with  the  glass  to  his  eyes,  and 
the  stokers  who  stuck  their  heads  out  of  the  en- 
gine room  for  a  breath  of  fresh  air.  The  squat, 
grim  little  Viking  was  speeding  across  Notre 
Dame  Bay,  with  a  wide,  frothy  wake  behind  her, 
and  the  water  curling  from  her  bows.  She  was 
for  all  the  world  like  a  man  making  haste  to  busi- 
ness in  the  morning,  the  appointment  being,  in 
this  case,  off  a  low,  gray  coast,  which  the  lifting 
haze  was  but  then  disclosing. 

It  was  broad  day :  the  sea  was  quiet,  the  sun 
shining  brightly,  the  sky  a  cloudless  blue ;  a 
fading  breeze  ruffled  the  water,  and  the  ripples 
flashed  in  the  sunlight.  Dead  ahead  and  fai 
away,  where  the  gray  of  the  coast  rocks  shaded 
to  the  blue  of  the  sea,  little  puffs  of  spray  were 
drifting  off  with  the  light  wind,  like  the  puff  of 


ABOARD  THE  WHALER  163 

smoke  from  a  distant  rifle :  they  broke  and 
drifted  and  vanished. 

From  time  to  time  mirror-flashes  of  light — 
swift  little  flashes — struck  Billy's  eyes  and  darted 
away.  Puff  after  puff  of  spray,  flash  after  flash 
of  light :  the  far-off  sea  seemed  to  be  alive  with 
the  quarry.  But  where  was  the  thrilling  old  cry 
of  "  There  she  blows  ! "  or  its  Norwegian  equiva- 
lent ?  The  lookout  had  but  spoken  a  quiet  word 
to  the  captain,  who,  in  turn,  had  spoken  a  quiet 
word  to  the  steersman. 

"  Wales,"  said  the  captain,  whose  English  had 
its  limitations.  "  Ho—far  off  1 " 


CHAPTER  XIX 

In  which  the  Chase  is  Kept  up  and  the  Captain 
Promises  Himself  a  Kill 

THE  number  of  whales  was  less  than  the 
captain  of  the  Viking  had  thought.  When 
the  vessel  came  up  with  the  school,  how- 
ever, there  were  twenty  or  more  fin-backs  to  pick 
and  choose  from.  They  lay  on  every  hand,  wal- 
lowing at  the  surface  of  the  sea  and  spouting 
thick,  low  streams  of  water  with  evident  delight : 
whales  far  and  near,  big  and  small,  in  pairs  and 
threes,  rising  and  gently  sinking,  blowing  and 
kon-g-kingy  and,  at  last,  arching  their  broad, 
finned  backs  for  the  long  dive. 

The  breathing  spell  was  of  two  or  three  min- 
utes' duration,  the  dive  of  five  or  ten,  and  might 
last  much  longer.  Billy  was  told  that  as  the 
whales  went  thus,  rising  and  diving,  they  travelled 
in  a  circle,  feeding  on  young  caplin  and  herring, 
squid  and  crustaceans.  He  had  never  thought 
to  admire  the  grace  of  a  whale  ;  but  his  admira- 
tion was  compelled :  the  ponderous,  ill-propor- 
tioned monsters  were  so  perfectly  adapted  to  the 

164 


THE  CHASE  OF  THE  FIN-BACK    165 

element  they  were  in  that  the  languor  and  grace 
with  which  they  moved  was  a  delight — particu- 
larly when  they  arched  their  glistening  black 
backs  and  softly,  languidly  vanished. 

But  meantime  the  Viking  was  lying  silent  and 
still ;  and  — 

"  Hon-g-k  !  "  from  off  the  port  bow. 

"  Ha  1 "  exclaimed  the  captain. 

A  big  whale  had  risen.  The  long  "  Hon-g-k  !  " 
as  he  had  inhaled  a  small  cyclone  of  breath  was 
sufficient  to  tell  that.  He  was  big  and  he  was 
near. 

"  Full  speed  ! "  quietly  from  the  captain  in 
Norwegian. 

The  steersman  had  already  spun  the  wheel 
without  orders.  The  Viking  swung  in  a  half 
circle  and  made  for  the  whale  at  top  speed. 
There  was  just  a  quiver  of  excitement  abroad — 
a  deepening  glitter  in  the  eyes  of  the  crew,  and 
silence.  The  rush  was  upon  the  whale  from  be- 
hind— instant,  swift,  straight :  the  engines  chug- 
chugged  and  the  water  swished  noisily  at  the 
bows.  There  was  no  lying  in  ambush,  no  stalk- 
ing: it  was  sight  your  game  and  make  for 
him. 

The  captain  leaned  lazily  on  the  gun,  which 


166  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

he  had  not  yet  swung  into  position  for  firing; 
his  legs  were  crossed,  though  the  whale  was  not 
a  hundred  yards  away,  and  he  was  placidly 
smoking  his  pipe.  The  fin-back  lay  dead  ahead 
now,  apparently  unconscious  of  the  Viking's  ap- 
proach, and  she  was  soon  so  near  that  his  escape 
seemed  to  Billy  to  be  beyond  the  barest  chance. 
The  captain  waved  his  hand,  calmly  looked  over 
the  sea,  and  fell  again  into  his  careless  position, 
with  one  eye  on  the  whale. 

At  once  the  engines  stopped  and  the  Viking 
slipped  softly  on  with  diminishing  speed.  When 
she  was  within  thirty  yards  of  the  whale,  each 
separate  muscle  of  Billy's  body  was  tight  with 
excitement — but  the  whale  arched  his  back  and 
slipped  down  deep  into  the  water  with  a  con- 
temptuous swing  of  his  broad,  strong  tail. 

"  Psh-h  ! "  exclaimed  the  captain,  giving  one 
slippered  foot  a  kick  with  the  other.  "  Psh  ! " 

They  were  running  over  a  stretch  of  frothy, 
swirling  water,  where  the  whale  had  lain  a  mo- 
ment before. 

"  Hon-g-k  !  "  from  off  the  starboard  quarter. 

The  captain  signaled  the  steersman,  who 
shouted  "  Full  speed  ! "  down  the  wheel-house 
tube.  In  a  flash  they  were  chug-chugging  in 


THE  CHASE  OF  THE  FIN-BACK     167 

haste  after  another  whale — which  eluded  them 
at  once,  with  no  more  fuss  than  the  first  had 
made  :  no  blowing  and  frantic  splashing ;  just  a 
lifting  of  the  back  and  a  languid  swing  of  the 
tail  Thus  the  third,  the  fourth,  the  fifth: 
again  and  again,  through  the  hours  of  that  quiet 
morning,  they  gave  chase ;  but  all  to  no  purpose 
— on  the  contrary,  indeed,  with  the  bad  effect  of 
alarming  the  whole  school.  The  whales  made 
sport  of  them  ;  the  flash  of  their  fins,  as  they 
slipped  away  beyond  pursuit,  was  most  aggra- 
vating. 

Soon  the  captain's  "  Psh ! "  became  guttural, 
and  communicated  itself  to  the  man  in  the  crow's* 
nest  and  the  engineer  who  was  off  duty;  the 
elusive  fin-backs  were  too  much  for  the  patience 
of  them  all.  But  for  hours  the  "  old  man  "  leaned 
on  the  gun  and  smoked  his  pipe,  intent  on  the 
chase  through  every  moment  of  that  time.  He 
kicked  his  right  foot  with  his  left ;  his  broad  back 
shook  with  rage ;  strange  ejaculations  drifted 
back  with  the  clouds  of  tobacco  smoke :  that  was 
all.  Repeated  disappointment  but  heightened 
the  alertness  and  eagerness  of  the  crew0  Every 
lost  whale  was  dismissed  with  a  "  Psh-h  ! "  and 
quite  forgotten  in  the  pursuit  of  the  next  one. 


168  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

Nine  hours  out  from  Snook's  Arm  and  six 
with  the  school  without  pointing  a  gun ! 

"  Agh  ! "  the  captain  exclaimed,  jumping  from 
the  gun  platform,  at  last,  "the  whale  captain 
have  the  worst  business  of  all  men.  Agh !  but  I 
wish  for  rough  seas.  But  I  wish  I  had  my  har- 
poon in  the  back  of  some  whale." 

All  days  are  not  blue.  Before  the  summer  was 
over,  Billy  Topsail  learned  there  were  times  when 
the  Viking  put  out  from  the  shelter  of  Snook's 
Arm  to  a  sea  that  is  rough.  A  gale  from  the 
northeast,  gray  and  gusty,  whips  up  the  white 
horses,  and  frost  gives  new  weight  to  the  water. 
Wind  and  fog  and  high  seas  and  sleet  make  the 
chase  perilous  as  well  as  bitter.  She  stumbles 
through  the  waves  and  wallows  in  the  trough  with 
a  clear-cut  duty  before  her — to  catch  and  kill  a 
whale:  the  little  niceties  of  dodging  breaking 
waves  cannot  be  indulged  in  when  all  mancever- 
ing  must  be  directed  towards  coming  up  with  the 
quarry  from  the  proper  firing-quarter. 

But  Billy's  first  day  was  clear  and  quiet ;  and 
the  whales  were  having  a  glorious  innings  with 
the  enemy. 

By  noon  the  prospects  for  a  kill  had  faded  to  a 


THE  CHASE  OF  THE  FIN  BACK     169 

bare  possibility  ;  the  school  had  been  well  scat- 
tered. Down  the  coast  and  up  the  coast,  out  to 
sea  and  far  away  across  the  bay,  puffs  of  spray 
made  known  the  various  directions  the  whales 
had  taken.  About  two  o'clock — ten  hours  out 
from  Snook's  Arm,  with  no  let  up  in  duty — the 
crew  were  attracted  by  the  deep,  long  hon-g-k  of 
a  big  fellow  out  to  sea  and  by  the  spouting  of  his 
two  companions :  a  group  of  three,  male  and 
female,  doubtless,  with  a  well-grown  young  one. 
They  gave  chase.  Captain  and  crew  had  come 
to  that  pass  when  fury  gets  the  better  of  pa- 
tience. 

It  was  determined  to  hunt  that  little  school  to 
the  death  or  until  deep  night  put  an  end  to  the 
chase. 

"  I  get  'im,"  said  the  captain  between  his  teeth. 
4 '  He  is  big.  I  get  him — or  none." 

It  was  not  easy  to  get  him.  They  were  led 
twenty  miles  to  sea  in  short  rushes,  each  of  which 
ended  in  disappointment  and  elicited  a  storm  of 
guttural  ejaculations ;  they  were  lured  inshore, 
where  submerged  rocks  were  a  menace ;  they 
were  taken  up  the  coast  and  back  again  towards 
the  islands  of  the  lower  shore  and  once  more  to 
sea.  Mile  after  mile — hour  after  hour!  They 


170  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

came  near — they  could  have  hit  the  beast  with  a 
stone.  Occasionally  the  captain  swung  the  gun 
into  position  and  put  a  hand  on  the  trigger ;  but 
the  arching  back  always  gave  notice,  in  good 
time,  that  he  had  been  balked  again.  They  tried 
to  guess  the  point  where  the  quarry  would  rise  ; 
they  steamed  near  that  point,  and  lay  there  wait- 
ing. 

"  Hon-g-k  !  "  from  half  a  mile  astern. 

"  Agh  1 "  cried  the  captain,  chagrin  twisting 
his  face.  "  The  whale  captain  have  pos — ee — 
tiv — lee  the  worst !  Full  speed  ! " 

Off  again  in  persistent  chase.  Meantime  the 
sun  had  declined ;  evening  was  drawing  on,  with 
gray  clouds  mounting  in  the  west,  and  a  breeze 
rising  inshore.  The  sea  was  spread  with  shadow, 
and  all  the  ripples  grew  to  little  waves,  which, 
hissing  as  they  broke,  obscured  the  swish  of 
water  at  our  bows.  The  opportunity  was  better, 
and  the  whales,  it  may  be,  had  acquired  the  in- 
evitable contempt  that  familiarity  breeds  The 
Viking  crept  nearer.  Each  time,  a  little  nearer ; 
and,  by  and  by,  when  she  had  come  within  range 
— within  range  for  the  first  time  that  day — and 
was  running  at  half  speed,  with  the  grayish-black 
backs  most  temptingly  exposed,  the  captain 


THE  CHASE  OF  THE  FIN-BACK     171 

dropped  the  muzzle  of  the  gun,  took  swift  sight, 
and — swung  the  gun  around  with  impatient 
force  !  The  whale  was  gone  on  the  long  dive  be' 
fore  a  vital  spot  had  been  exposed. 

There  was  no  impatience  of  action  aboard  the 
Viking  :  the  harpoon  might  even  then  have  been 
fast  in  the  whale's  back,  but  the  captain  had 
coolly  withheld  his  stroke  until  the  opportunity 
should  be  precisely  what  he  sought.  And  this 
display  of  patience  after  a  fruitless  chase  of  fifteen 
hours !  Billy  Topsail  gasped  his  disappointment. 
But  the  captain  laughed. 

"  I  get  him  yet,"  he  said.  "  Soon,  now,"  after 
a  look  at  sea  and  darkening  sky. 


CHAPTER  XX 

The  Mate  of  the  Fin-Back  Whale  Rises  for  tht 
Last  Time,  With  a  Blood- Red  Sunset  Beyond, 
and  Billy  Topsail  Says,  "  Too  bad!" 

HALF  a  mile  ahead  the  whales  rose. 
The  Viking  crept  near  without  giving 
alarm,  and  waited  for  them  to  dive  and 
rise  again.  The  warning  swish  and  hon-g-k 
sounded  next  from  off  the  port  bow.  There  was 
a  shout  from  the  crew.  The  school  lay  close  in, 
headed  away ;  they  were  splashing  and  blissfully 
hon-g-king — and  the  Viking  not  fifty  yards  dis- 
tant. She  was  upon  them  from  behind  before 
they  had  well  drawn  breath.  Steam  was  shut  off 
The  captain's  eye  was  at  the  butt  of  the  gun,  and 
his  hand  was  on  the  trigger.  The  boat  crept 
nearer — so  near  that  Billy  Topsail  could  have 
leaped  from  the  bow  to  the  back  of  the  young 
whale ;  and  she  was  fast  losing  way. 

But  it  was  not  the  young  whale  that  the 
captain  wanted.  He  held  his  fire.  Down  went 
the  young  one.  Down  went  the  bull  whale. 
But  had  he  arched  his  back  ?  The  old  female 

wallowed    a    moment    longer  and  dived   with 

171 


"TOO  BAD!"  173 

arched  back.  She  barely  escaped  the  Viking's 
bows  and  might  have  been  mortally  harpooned 
with  ease.  But  it  was  not  the  female  that  the 
captain  wanted.  It  was  the  big  male.  There 
was  not  a  whale  in  sight  Still  the  captain  kept 
his  eye  at  the  butt  of  the  gun  and  his  hand  on 
the  trigger. 

A  moment  later — the  steamer  was  slipping 
along  very  slowly — the  water  ahead  was  dis- 
turbed. The  back  of  the  bull  whale  appeared. 
A  stream  of  water  shot  into  the  air  and  broke 
like  a  fountain.  The  Viking  kept  pace — gained  ; 
momentarily  creeping  nearer,  until  the  range 
was  but  ten  yards.  Then  the  whale,  as  though 
taking  alarm,  arched  his  back ;  and  — 

Bang ! 

The  puff  of  smoke  drifted  away.  Billy  Top- 
sail caught  sight  of  the  harpoon,  sunk  to  the  hilt 
in  the  whale's  side.  Then  the  waters  closed  over 
the  wounded  beast. 

"Ha!"  cried  the  captain,  jumping  from  the 
platform,  and  strutting  about  with  his  thumbs  in 
the  armholes  of  his  waistcoat.  "  Did  you  see 
me?  Ha!  It  is  over!" 

A  cheer  broke  from  the  crew.  The  men  ran 
forward  to  their  stations  at  the  winch. 


174  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"Ha!"  the  captain  repeated  with  intense 
satisfaction,  his  ruddy  face  wreathed  in  smiles. 
"Did  you  see  me?  Ha-a-a-al  It  is  a  dead 
w'ale." 

The  harpoon  line  was  paying  out  slowly,  con- 
trolled by  a  big  steam  winch — a  gigantic  fishing 
reel.  The  engines  were  stopped ;  but  the 
Viking  was  going  forward  at  a  lively  rate  as 
the  catch  plunged  down  and  on.  Minute  after 
minute  slipped  away — five  minutes ;  then  the 
rope  slackened  somewhat,  and,  a  moment  later, 
the  big  whale  came  to  the  surface  and  spouted 
streams  of  blood — streams  as  red  as  the  streak 
of  sunset  light  in  the  gray  sky  beyond  him.  He 
floundered  there  in  agony,  blowing  and  hon-g- 
king  and  beating  the  sea  with  his  tail :  turning 
the  water  crimson  with  his  blood. 

It  took  him  a  long,  long  time  to  die,  frightfully 
torn  by  the  bomb  though  he  was.  He  dived 
and  rose  and  coughed  ;  and  at  last  he  sank 
slowly  down,  down,  and  still  down ;  drawing  out 
a  hundred  and  forty  fathom  of  line :  straight 
down  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea  in  that  place. 
From  time  to  time  the  captain  touched  the  rope 
with  his  fingers ;  and  when  the  tremour  of  life 
had  passed  from  it  he  gave  the  signal  to  haul 


'IT    IS    A   DEAD    WALE! 


"TOO  BAD!"  175 

away.  Half  an  hour  later  the  carcass  of  the 
monster  was  inflated  with  gas,  lying  belly  up  at 
the  surface  of  the  water,  and  lashed  by  the  tail 
to  the  port  bow  of  the  steamer. 

Off  the  starboard  quarter — far  away  where 
the  dusk  had  gathered — the  mate  of  the  dead 
whale  rose,  hon-g-ked,  dived  and  was  seen  no 
more. 

"  Too  bad  1 "  muttered  Billy  Topsail. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

In  Which  Billy  Topsail  Goes  Fishing  in  Earnest. 
Concerning,  also,  Feather's  Folly  of  the  Devil's 
Teeth,  Mary  Robinson,  and  the  Wreck  of  the 
Fish  Killer 

FEATHER'S  FOLLY  was  one  of  a  group 
of  troublesome  islands  lying  off  Cape  Grief 
on  the  way  to  the  Labrador.  Surveyed  by 
a  generously  inaccurate  apprentice  it  might  have 
measured  an  acre.  It  was  as  barren  as  an  old 
bone ;  but  a  painstaking  man,  with  unimpaired 
eyesight,  if  he  lingered  long  and  lovingly  enough 
over  the  task,  could  doubtless  have  discovered 
more  than  one  blade  of  grass.  There  is  no  ad- 
jective in  the  English  language  adequate  to 
describe  its  forbidding  appearance  as  viewed 
from  the  sea  in  a  gale  of  wind. 

On  the  chart  it  was  a  mere  dot — a  nameless 
rock,  the  outermost  of  a  group  most  happily 
called  the  Devil's  Teeth.  To  the  Labrador  fisher- 
men, bound  north  from  Newfoundland  in  the 
spring,  bound  south,  with  their  loads  of  green 
cod,  in  the  fall,  it  was  the  Cocked  Hat.  This 

name,  too,  is  aptly  descriptive ;  many  a  schooner, 

176 


FEATHER'S  FOLLY  177 

caught  in  the  breakers,  had,  as  the  old  proverb 
hath  it,  been  knocked  into  that  condition,  or 
worse.  But  to  the  folk  of  the  immediate  coast, 
and  especially  of  Hulk's  Harbour,  which  lies 
within  sight  on  the  mainland,  it  was  for  long 
known  as  Feather's  Folly. 

Old  Bill  Feather  had  once  been  wrecked  on 
the  Cocked  Hat.  The  little  Lucky  Lass,  bound 
to  Hulk's  Harbour  from  the  Hen-and-Chickens, 
and  sunk  to  the  scupper-holes  with  green  fish, 
had  struck  in  a  fog.  Four  minutes  later  she  had 
gone  down  with  all  hands  save  Bill.  An  absent- 
minded  breaker  had  deposited  him  high  and  dry 
on  a  ledge  of  the  northeast  cliff ;  needless  to  say, 
it  was  much  to  Bill's  surprise.  For  five  days  the 
castaway  had  shivered  and  starved  on  the  barren 
rock.  This  was  within  sight  of  the  chimney- 
smoke  of  home — of  the  harbour  tickle,  of  the 
cottage  roofs ;  even,  in  clear  weather,  of  the  flakes 
and  stage  of  his  own  place. 

"  It  won't  happen  again,"  vowed  Bill,  when 
they  took  his  lean,  sore  hulk  home. 

What  Bill  did — what  he  planned  and  accom- 
plished in  the  face  of  ridicule  and  adverse  fortune 
— earned  the  rock  the  name  of  Feather's  Folly  in 
that  neighbourhood. 


178  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"  Anyhow,"  old  Bill  was  in  the  habit  of  repeat- 
ing, to  defend  himself,  "  I  'low  it  won't  happen 
again.  An'  I'll  see  that  it  don't ! " 

But  season  followed  season,  without  event; 
and  the  Cocked  Hat  was  still  known  as  Feather's 
Folly. 

Billy  Topsail  was  to  learn  this. 

It  was  early  in  the  spring  of  the  year—too 
early  by  half,  the  old  salts  said,  for  Labrador 
craft  to  put  out  from  the  Newfoundland  ports. 
Thick,  vagrant  fogs,  drifting  with  the  variable 
winds,  were  abroad  on  all  the  coast;  and  the 
Arctic  current  was  spread  with  drift  ice  from  the 
upper  shores  and  with  great  bergs  from  the 
glaciers  of  the  far  north.  But  Skipper  Libe  Tus- 
eel,  of  the  thirty-ton  Fish  Killer,  hailing  from 
Ruddy  Cove,  was  a  firm  believer  in  the  fortunes 
of  the  early  bird  ;  moreover,  he  was  determined 
that  the  skipper  of  the  Cod  Trap,  hailing  from 
Fortune,  should  not  this  season  preempt  his 
trap-berth  on  the  Thigh  Bone  fishing  grounds. 
So  the  Fish  Killer  was  underway  for  the  north, 
early  as  it  was ;  and  she  was  cheerily  game  to 
face  the  chances  of  wind  and  ice,  if  only  she 
might  beat  the  Cod  Trap  to  the  favourable  oppor- 


FEATHER'S  FOLLY  179 

tunities  of  the  Thigh  Bone  grounds  off  Indian 
Harbour. 

"It's  thick,"  Robinson  remarked  to  the 
skipper. 

"Tit  thick." 

Billy  Topsail,  now  grown  old  enough  for  the 
adventurous  voyage  to  the  Labrador  coast,  was 
aboard ;  and  he  listened  to  this  exchange  with 
a  deal  of  interest.  It  was  his  first  fishing  voyage ; 
he  had  been  north  in  the  Rescue,  to  be  sure, 
but  that  was  no  more  than  a  cruise,  undertaken 
to  relieve  the  starving  fishermen  of  the  upper 
harbours.  At  last,  he  was  fishing  in  earnest — 
really  aboard  the  Fish  Killer,  bound  north,  there 
to  fish  the  summer  through,  in  all  sorts  of  weather, 
with  a  share  in  the  catch  at  the  end  of  it !  He 
was  vastly  delighted  by  this :  for  'twas  a  man's 
work  he  was  about,  and  'twas  a  man's  work  he 
was  wanting  to  do. 

"  Thick  as  mud,"  said  Robinson,  with  a  little 
shiver. 

"'S  mud,"  the  skipper  responded,  in  laconic 
agreement. 

And  it  was  thick  1  The  fog  had  settled  at  mid- 
day. A  fearsome  array  of  icebergs  had  then  been 
in  sight,  and  the  low  coast,  with  the  snow  still 


£8o  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

upon  it,  had  to  leeward  shone  in  the  brilliant 
sunlight.  But  now,  with  the  afternoon  not  yet 
on  the  wane,  the  day  had  turned  murky  and 
damp.  A  bank  of  black  fog  had  drifted  in  from 
the  open  sea.  Ice  and  shore  had  disappeared. 
The  limit  of  vision  approached,  possibly,  but  did 
not  attain,  twenty-five  yards.  The  weather  was 
thick,  indeed ;  the  schooner  seemed  to  be  wing- 
ing along  through  a  boundless  cloud ;  and  there 
was  a  smart  breeze  blowing,  and  the  circle  of  sea, 
in  the  exact  centre  of  which  the  schooner  floated, 
was  choppy  and  black. 

"  Thick  enough,"  Skipper  Libe  echoed, 
thoughtfully.  "  But,"  he  added,  "  you  wouldn't 
advise  heavin'  to,  would  you  ?  " 

"No,  no!"  Robinson  exclaimed.  "I'm  toe 
anxious  to  get  to  Indian  Harbour." 

"  And  I,"  muttered  the  skipper,  with  an  anxious 
look  ahead,  "  to  make  the  Thigh  Bone  grounds. 
But " 

"Give  her  all  the  wind  she'll  carry,"  said 
Robinson.  "  It  won't  bother  me." 

"  I  thinks,"  the  skipper  continued,  ignoring  the 
interruption,  "that  I'll  shorten  sail.  For,"  said 
he,  "I'm  thinkin'  the  old  girl  might  bleed  at  the 
nose  if  she  happened  t'  bump  a  berg." 


FEATHER'S  FOLLY  181 

While  the  crew  reduced  the  canvas,  Robinson 
went  below.  He  was  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany's agent  at  Dog  Arm  of  the  Labrador, 
which  is  close  to  Indian  Harbour.  In  January, 
with  his  invalid  daughter  in  a  dog-sled,  he  had 
journeyed  from  that  far  place  to  Desolate  Bay  of 
Newfoundland,  and  thence  by  train  to  St.  John's. 
It  had  been  a  toilsome,  dangerous,  incredibly 
bitter  experience.  But  he  had  forgotten  that, 
nor  had  he  ever  complained  of  it ;  his  happiness 
was  that  his  child  had  survived  the  surgeons' 
operation,  had  profited  in  ease  and  hope,  had  al- 
ready been  restored  near  to  her  old  sunny  health. 
Early  in  the  spring,  word  of  the  proposed  sailing 
of  the  Fish  Killer  from  Ruddy  Cove  had  come 
to  him  at  St.  John's ;  and  he  had  taken  passage 
with  Skipper  Libe,  no  more,  it  must  be  said,  be- 
cause he  wished  Mary's  mother  to  know  the  good 
news  (she  had  had  no  word  since  his  departure) 
than  because  he  was  breathlessly  impatient  once 
more  to  be  serving  the  company's  interests  at 
Dog  Arm. 

To  Mary  and  her  father  Skipper  Libe  had 
with  seamanlike  courtesy  abandoned  the  tiny 
cabin.  The  child  was  lying  in  the  skipper's  own 
berth — warmly  covered,  comfortably  tucked  in, 


182  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

provided  with  a  book  to  read  by  the  light  of  the 
swinging  lamp. 

"  Are  you  happy,  dear  ?  "  her  father  asked. 

"  Oh,  yes  I " 

The  man  took  the  child's  hand.  "  Pm  some- 
times sorry,"  he  said,  "that  we  didn't  wait  for 
the  mail-boat.  The  Fish  Killer  is  a  pretty  tough 
craft  for  a  little  girl  to  be  aboard." 

"  Sorry  ?  "  was  the  instant  response,  made  with 
a  little  smile.  "  I'm  not.  I'm  glad.  Isn't  Cape 
Grief  close  to  leeward  ?  Well,  then,  father,  we're 
half  way  home.  Think  of  it  I  Wdre — half- 
way— home  /  " 

The  father  laughed. 

"And  we  might  have  been  waiting  at  St. 
John's,"  the  child  continued,  her  blue  eyes  shin- 
ing. "  Oh,  father,  I'd  rather  be  aboard  the  Fish 
Killer  off  Grief  Head  than  in  the  very  best  room 
of  the  Crosbie  Hotel.  Half  way  home ! "  she 
repeated.  "  Half  way  home !  " 

"  Half  way  is  a  long  way." 

"  But  it's  half  way !" 

"  On  this  coast,"  the  father  sighed,  "  no  man 
is  home  until  he  gets  there." 

"  It's  a  fair  wind." 

"  And  the  fog  as  thick  as  mud." 


FEATHER'S  FOLLY  183 

"  But  they've  reefed  the  mains'l ;  they've 
stowed  the  stays'l ;  they've  got  the  tops'l  down. 
Haven't  you  heard  them?  I've  been  listen- 
ing  » 

"  What's  that!"  Robinson  cried. 

It  was  a  mere  ejaculation  of  terror.  He  had 
no  need  to  ask  the  question.  Even  Mary  knew 
well  enough  what  had  happened.  The  Fish 
Killer  had  struck  an  iceberg  bow  on.  The 
shock  ;  the  crash  forward  ;  the  clatter  of  a  falling 
topmast ;  the  cries  on  deck :  these  things  were 
alive  with  the  fearful  information. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

The  Crew  of  the  Fish  Killer  Finds  Refuge  on  an 
Iceberg,  and  Discovers  Greater  Safety  Else- 
where,  after  Which  the  Cook  is  Mistaken  for  a 
Fool,  but  puts  the  Crew  to  Shame 

ROBINSON    caught   the   child   from  the 
berth.     He    paused — it   was  an   instinct 
born  of  Labrador  experience — to  wrap  a 
blanket  about  her,  though  she  was  clothed  for  the 
day.     She  reminded  him  quietly  that  she  would 
catch  cold  without  her  cap ;  and  this  he  snatched 
in  passing.     Then  he  was  on  deck — in  the  midst 
of  a  litter  from  aloft  and  of  a  vast  confusion  of 
terrified  cries. 

Before  she  struck,  the  Fish  Killer  had  ascended 
a  gently  shelving  beach  of  ice,  washed  smooth  by 
the  sea.  There  she  hung  precariously.  Her 
stern  was  low,  so  low  that  the  choppy  sea  came 
aboard  and  swamped  the  cabin ;  and  the  bow  was 
high  on  the  ice.  Her  bowsprit  was  in  splinters, 
her  topmast  on  deck,  her  spliced  mainmast  tot- 
tering ;  she  was  the  bedraggled  wreck  of  a  craft. 
Beyond,  the  berg  towered  into  the  fog, 
stretched  into  the  fog ;  only  a  broken  wall  of  blue- 

184 


ON  THE  DEVIL'S  TEETH  185 

white  ice  was  visible.  The  butt  of  the  bowsprit 
overhung  a  wide  ledge.  To  scramble  to  the 
shattered  extremity,  to  hang  by  the  hands,  to 
drop  to  safe  foothold  :  this  would  all  have  been 
easy  for  children.  The  impulse  was  to  seek  the 
solid  berg  in  haste  before  the  schooner  had  time 
to  fall  away  and  sink. 

Robinson  ran  forward. 

"Got  that  kid?"  Skipper  Libe  demanded. 
"  Ah,  you  has  !  Billy  Topsail  1 "  he  roared. 

Billy  answered. 

"  Get  ashore  on  that  ice !"  the  skipper  ordered. 

Billy  ran  out  on  the  broken  bowsprit  and 
dropped  to  the  berg.  He  looked  back  expect- 
antly. 

"  Take  the  kid ! " 

A  push  sent  Robinson  on  the  same  road.  He 
dropped  Mary  into  Billy's  waiting  arms.  Then 
he,  too,  looked  back  for  orders. 

"  Ashore  with  you  ! " 

Robinson  swung  by  the  hands  and  dropped. 
Before  he  let  go  his  hands  he  had  felt  the  vessel 
quiver  and  begin  to  recede  from  her  position. 

"  Now,  men,"  said  the  skipper,  "  grub  !  She'll 
be  off  in  a  minute." 

Every  man  of  them  leaped  willingly  to  the  im- 


186  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

perative  duty.  The  food  was  in  the  forecastle  and 
hold;  they  disappeared.  Skipper  Libe  kept 
watch  on  deck.  With  the  waves  restless  beneath 
her  stern,  the  schooner  was  perilously  insecure. 
She  was  gradually  working  her  way  back  to  the 
sea.  The  briefest  glance  below  had  already  as- 
sured Skipper  Libe  that  her  timbers  were  hope- 
lessly sprung. 

She  was  old — rotten  with  age  and  hard  service. 
The  water  was  pouring  in  forward  and  amidships ; 
it  ran  aft  in  a  flood,  contributing  its  weight  to  the 
vessel's  inclination  to  slip  away  from  the  berg. 
It  was  slow  in  the  beginning,  this  retreat ;  but 
through  every  moment  the  movement  was  ac- 
celerated. Five  minutes — four — three  (in  a  space 
too  brief  to  be  counted  upon  she  would  be  wallow- 
ing in  the  sea. 

"  Haste ! "  the  skipper  screamed. 

Waiting  was  out  of  the  question.  The  Fish 
Killer  was  about  to  drop  into  the  sea.  Though 
the  men  had  but  tumbled  into  the  forecastle — 
though  as  yet  they  had  had  no  time  to  seize  the 
food  of  which  to-morrow  would  find  them  in  des- 
perate need — the  skipper  roared  the  order  to  re- 
turn. 

"  Ashore !    Ashore  1 "  he  shouted. 


ON  THE  DEVIL'S  TEETH  187 

They  came  back  more  willingly,  more  expedi- 
tiously,  than  they  had  gone ;  and  they  came  back 
empty-handed.  Not  a  man  among  them  had  so 
much  as  a  single  biscuit. 

"Jim  1 "  said  the  skipper. 

With  that,  Jim  Tall,  the  cook,  clambered  out  on 
the  bowsprit.  The  others  of  the  crew  waited, 
each  with  an  anxious  eye  upon  the  skipper. 

"  Bill ! " 

No  sooner  was  Jim  Tall  at  the  end  of  the  bow- 
sprit than  Bill  was  underway.  The  skipper 
grimly  watched  his  terrified  progress. 

"Jack!" 

In  turn,  Jack  Sop  scrambled  out  and  dropped 
to  the  berg.  The  schooner  was  fast  receding 
from  the  ledge.  Alexander  Budge,  John  Swan, 
Archibald  Mann,  completing  the  fishing  crewf 
with  the  exception  of  Tom  Watt,  the  first  hand, 
and  the  skipper,  won  the  ice. 

"  Now,  Tom ! "  said  the  skipper. 

"You,  sir!" 

"  Tom ! "  Skipper  Libe  roared ;  and  you  may  be 
sure  that  Tom  Watt  waited  no  longer. 

Only  the  skipper  was  left.  The  change  from 
his  passive  attitude — from  his  unbending,  repose- 
ful attitude,  with  a  hand  carelessly  laid  on  the 


i88  The  AD  VENTURES*/  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

windlass — was  so  sudden  and  unequivocal  that 
Jim  Tall,  the  cook,  who  was  ever  the  wag  of  the 
crew,  startled  even  himself  with  laughter.  It  was 
instant.  Skipper  Libe  in  a  flash  turned  from  a 
petrified  man  into  a  terrified  and  marvellously 
agile  monkey.  He  bounded  for  the  bowsprit, 
nimbly  ran  the  broken  length  of  it,  and  there 
stood  swaying.  The  vessel  was  now  so  far  from 
the  ledge,  and  so  fast  receding,  that  he  paused. 
Delay  had  but  one  issue.  This  was  so  apparent 
that  horror  tied  the  tongues  of  the  crew.  Not  a 
cry  of  warning  was  uttered.  The  situation  was 
too  intense,  too  brief,  for  utterance. 

"Tom,"  said  the  skipper  to  the  first  hand, 
"  catch  I" 

He  leaped. 

"Skipper,"  said  Tom  Watt,  in  the  uttermost 
confusion,  an  instant  later,  "  glad  t'  see  you  1 
Come  in  !  You  isn't  a  minute  too  early." 

In  this  way,  proceeding  with  admirable  self- 
possession,  the  souls  aboard  the  Fish  Killer 
jumped  from  the  frying-pan.  Whether  or  not  it 
was  into  the  fire  was  not  for  a  moment  in  doubt 
When  the  schooner  had  once  fairly  reached  the 
sea,  which  immediately  happened,  she  sank. 
They  saw  her  waver,  slowly  settle,  disappear; 


ON  THE  DEVIL'S  TEETH  189 

when  her  topmast  went  tottering  under  water  the 
end  had  come. 

Whatever  may  be  said  of  a  frying-pan,  nobody 
can  accuse  the  crew  of  the  Fish  Killer  of  having 
come  within  reach  of  a  fire.  Aboard  the  berg  it 
was  cold — awfully  cold.  Icebergs  carry  an  at- 
mosphere of  that  sort  even  into  the  Gulf  Stream ; 
they  radiate  cold  so  effectively  that  the  captains 
of  steamers  take  warning  and  evade  them.  It 
was  cold— very,  very  cold.  There  was  nothing 
to  temper  the  numbing  bitterness  of  the  situa- 
tion. And  what  the  night  might  bring  could 
only  be  surmised. 

Though  they  were  born  to  lives  of  hardship 
and  peril,  though  they  had  long  been  used  to  the 
chances  of  the  sea,  not  one  of  the  castaways  had 
ever  before  fallen  into  a  predicament  so  barren  of 
hope.  Flung  on  an  iceberg,  adrift  on  the  wild 
North  Atlantic,  derelict  where  no  ships  passed, 
at  the  mercy  of  the  capricious  winds,  without 
food  or  fire  :  there  seemed  to  be  no  possibility  of 
escape.  But  for  a  time  they  did  not  despair ; 
and,  moreover,  for  a  time  each  felt  it  a  high  duty 
to  make  light  of  the  situation,  to  joke  of  cold- 
storage  and  polar  bears,  that  the  spirits  of  the 


The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

others  might  be  encouraged.  As  dusk  ap- 
proached, however,  the  ghastly  humour  failed. 
Ruin,  agony;  grief,  imminent  death  ;  in  the  moody 
silence,  they  dwelt,  rather,  upon  these  things. 

It  was  not  yet  dark  when  a  faint  shock,  a  hardly 
perceptible  shiver,  a  crash  from  aloft,  a  subsiding 
rumble,  apprised  the  castaways  of  a  portentous 
change  of  condition. 

<:  What's  that,  now  ?  "  growled  the  cook. 

It  was  a  cruelly  anxious  moment.  Only  the 
event  itself  would  determine  whether  or  not  the 
berg  was  to  turn  turtle.  They  waited. 

"  She's  grounded,  I  'low ! "  exclaimed  the 
skipper. 

There  was  no  further  disturbance.  Whatever 
had  happened,  the  equilibrium  of  the  berg  had 
been  maintained. 

"  I'm  thinkin',"  said  the  skipper,  "  that  I'll  take 
a  little  look  about." 

The  skipper's  "  little  look  about "  developed 
what  appeared  to  be  a  saving  opportunity.  The 
berg  had  grounded  ;  it  had  also  jammed  a  wan- 
dering pack  of  drift-ice  against  the  land.  What 
that  shore  was,  whether  mainland  or  island,  the 
skipper  did  not  wait  to  ascertain  ;  it  was  suf- 
ficient for  him  to  know  that  the  survivors  of  the 


ON  THE  DEVIL'S  TEETH          191 

Fish  Killer  might  escape  from  a  disintegrating 
berg  to  solid  ground. 

He  returned,  breathless,  with  the  enlivening 
news  ;  and  in  lively  fashion,  which  almost  ap- 
proached a  panic,  the  castaways  abandoned  the 
berg.  It  was  a  hard,  painful,  dangerous  scram- 
ble, made  in  the  failing  light,  and  the  cook  had 
an  unwelcome  bath  in  the  icy  water  between  two 
pans ;  but  it  had  a  successful  issue.  Before  dark, 
they  were  all  ashore — more  hopeful,  now,  than 
they  had  been,  but  still  staring  death  in  the 
face. 

So  curious  was  Skipper  Libe  that,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  last  of  the  light,  he  set  out  to  dis- 
cover the  character  of  the  refuge.  He  returned 
discouraged. 

"  'Tis  but  a  rock,"  said  he.  "  'Tis  no  more 
than  a  speck  o'  land." 

Then  night  fell.  Robinson's  little  daughter 
was  by  this  time  on  the  point  of  succumbing  to 
the  exposure.  Cold,  hunger  and  despair  had 
reduced  her  to  a  pitiable  silence.  She  was  in 
the  extremity  of  physical  exhaustion.  They 
made  a  deep  hollow  in  the  snow  in  the  shelter  of 
a  declivity  of  rock  ;  and  there  they  bestowed 
her,  gladly  yielding  their  jackets  to  provide  her 


192    The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

with  such  comfort  as  they  could.  But  this  was 
small  mitigation  of  the  hardship.  The  child  was 
still  hopeless  and  cold.  It  was  sadly  apparent 
that  she  could  not  survive  the  night.  And  Rob- 
inson knew  that  to-morrow  and  to-morrow — a 
long  stretch  of  days — lay  before  them  all.  There 
was  no  hope  for  a  frail  body  ;  weakness  was 
death.  In  his  heart  he  frankly  admitted  that  he 
was  about  to  lose  his  child. 

He  lay  down  beside  her.  "Mary,  dear,"  he 
pleaded,  "  don't  give  up  1 " 

She  pressed  his  hand. 

"  Don't  give  up  1 "  he  repeated. 

A  wan  smile  came  and  went.  "I  can't  help 
it,"  she  whispered. 

Skipper  Libe  and  his  men  withdrew.  It  was 
now  near  midnight.  The  fog  was  lifting.  Stars 
twinkled  in  patches  of  black  sky.  Low  towards 
the  seaward  horizon  the  moon  was  breaking 
through  the  clouds. 

Suddenly  the  cook  sat  bolt  upright  "  Skip- 
per," he  demanded,  '  where  is  we?" 

"  On  the  Devil's  Teeth." 

"An'  what  rock's  this?" 

"This?" 

"Ay— this/" 


ON  THE  DEVIL'S  TEETH  193 

"  I'd  not  be  s' prised,"  the  skipper  answered, 
"  if  'tis  what  they  calls  the  Cocked  Hat." 

"  Feather's  Folly ! "  roared  the  cook. 

"  Which  ?  "  said  the  skipper,  suspiciously. 

The  cook  was  on  his  feet — dancing  in  glad 
excitement.  "  Feather's  Folly  1 "  he  shouted. 
"  Feather's  Folly  !  " 

"  Catch  un  I "  said  the  skipper,  quietly.  "  He've 
gone  mad." 

They  set  upon  the  poor  cook.  Before  he  could 
escape  they  had  him  fast.  He  was  tripped, 
thrown,  sat  upon. 

"  Don't  let  him  up,"  the  skipper  warned. 
"  He'll  do  hisself  hurt.  Poor  man  !  "  he  sighed. 
"  He've  lost  his  senses." 

"  Mad  ! "  screamed  the  cook.  "  You're  mad. 
Feather's  Folly  !  We're  saved  ! " 

"  Hold  un  tight,"  said  the  skipper. 

But  the  cook  was  not  to  be  held.  He  wriggled 
free  and  bolted.  Billy  Topsail  and  all  took  after 
him,  the  skipper  in  the  lead ;  and  by  the  dim, 
changing  light  of  that  night  he  led  them  a  mad 
chase  over  rock  and  through  drifted  snow.  They 
pursued,  they  headed  him  off,  they  laid  hold  of 
his  flying  coat-tail ;  but  he  eluded  them,  dodged, 
sped,  doubled.  If  he  were  mad,  there  was  method 


194   The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

in  his  madness.  He  was  searching  every  square 
yard  of  that  acre  of  uneven  rock.  At  last,  pant- 
ing and  perspiring,  he  came  to  a  full  stop  and 
turned  triumphantly  upon  his  pursuers.  He  had 
found  what  he  sought. 

"Mad!"  he  laughed.  "Who's  mad,  now? 
Eh?  Who's  crazy?" 

The  crew  stared. 

"  Who's  crazy  ?  "  the  cook  roared.  "  Look  at 
that !  What  d'ye  make  o'  that  ?  " 

"  It  looks,"  the  skipper  admitted,  "  like  salva- 
tion I " 

Old  man  Feather  had  indeed  "seen  that  it 
wouldn't  happen  again."  He  had  provided  for 
castaways  on  the  Cocked  Hat.  There  was  a 
tight  little  hut  in  the  lee  of  the  Bishop's  Nose  ; 
within,  there  were  provisions  and  blankets  and 
fire-wood  and  candles.  Moreover,  in  the  sprawl- 
ing, misspelled  welcome,  tacked  to  the  wall,  there 
was  even  the  heartening  information  that  "  see- 
gars  is  in  the  kityun  tabl."  The  passengers  and 
crew  of  the  Fish  Killer  were  soon  warm  and  satis- 
fied. They  spent  a  happy  night — a  night  so 
changed,  so  cozy,  so  bountiful,  that  they  blessed 
old  man  Feather  until  their  tongues  were  tired 


ON  THE  DEVIL'S  TEETH  195 

And  old  man  Feather,  himself,  who  kept  watch 
on  the  Cocked  Hat  with  a  spy-glass,  took  them 
off  to  Hulk's  Harbour  in  the  clear  weather  of  the 
next  day. 

"  An'  did  you  find  the  cigars,  skipper  ? "  he 
whispered,  with  a  wide,  proud  grin. 

"  Us  did." 

"  An'  was  they  good  ?  Hist !  now,"  the  old 
fellow  repeated,  with  a  wink  of  mystery,  "  wasn't 
they  good  ?  " 

"  Well,"  the  skipper  drawled,  not  ungraciously, 
you  may  be  sure,  "  the  cook  made  bad  weather 
of  it.  But  he  double-reefed  hisself  an'  lived 
through.  'Twas  the  finest  an'  the  first  cigar  he 
ever  seed." 

The  old  man  chuckled  delightedly. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

In  Which   the  Clerk   of  the    Trader  Tax   Yarns 
of  a  Madman  in  the  Cabin 


nr 


HE  trading-schooner  Tax  of  Ruddy  Cove 
had  come  down  from  the  Labrador.  She 
was  riding  at  anchor  in  the  home  har- 
bour, with  her  hold  full  of  salt  fish  and  the  goods 
in  her  cabin  run  sadly  low.  Billy  Topsail,  safely 
back  from  Feather's  Folly,  and  doomed  by  the 
wreck  of  the  Fish  Killer  to  spend  the  summer  in 
the  quieter  pursuits  of  Ruddy  Cove,  had  gone 
aboard  to  greet  the  crew.  There  was  hot  tea  on 
the  forecastle  table,  and  the  crew  was  yarning  to 
a  jolly,  brown  grinning  lot  of  Ruddy  folk,  who 
had  come  aboard.  It  was  Cook,  the  clerk,  a 
merry,  blue-eyed  little  man,  who  told  the  story  of 
the  madman  in  the  cabin. 

"  We  were  lying  in  Shelter  Harbour/'  said  he, 
"waiting  for  a  fair  wind  to  Point-o'-Bay.  It 
was  coming  close  to  night  when  they  saw  him 
leaping  along  shore  and  kicking  a  tin  kettle 
as  though  'twas  a  football.  I  was  in  the  cabin, 
putting  the  stock  to  rights  after  the  day's  trade 

196 


THE  MAN  IN  THE  CABIN          197 

I  heard  the  hail  and  the  skipper's  answering, '  Ay 
ay !  This  is  the  trader  Tax  from  Ruddy  Cove/ 
Then  the  skipper  sung  out  to  know  if  I  wanted  a 
customer.  Customer?  To  be  sure  I  wanted 
one! 

41  *  If  he  has  a  gallon  of  oil  or  a  pound  of  fish/ 
said  I,  '  fetch  him  aboard.1 

" '  He  looks  queer/  said  the  skipper. 

"  '  Queer  he  may  look/  said  I,  '  and  queer  he 
may  be,  but  his  fish  will  be  first  cousins  to  the 
ones  in  the  hold,  and  I'll  barter  for  them/ 

"  With  that  the  skipper  put  off  in  the  punt  to 
fetch  the  customer ;  but  when  he  drew  near  shore 
he  lay  on  his  oars,  something  puzzled,  I'm  think- 
ing, for  the  customer  was  dancing  a  hornpipe  on 
a  flat  rock  at  the  water's  edge,  by  the  first  light 
of  the  moon. 

"  '  Have  you  got  a  fish  t'  trade  ? '  said  the 
skipper. 

" '  Good-evenin',  skipper,  sir/  said  the  queer 
customer,  after  a  last  kick  and  flourish.  *  I've  a 
quintal  or  two  an'  a  cask  o'  oil  that  I'm  wantin' 
bad  t'  trade  away.' 

"  He  was  rational  as  you  please  ;  so  the  skip- 
per was  thrown  off  his  guard,  took  him  aboard, 
and  pulled  out. 


198    The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSA 

"  *  You're  quite  a  dancer/  said  he. 

"  *  Hut  1 '  said  the  man.  *  That's  nothin'  at  all 
When  the  moon's  full  an'  high,  sir,  I  dances  over 
the  waves  ;  an'  when  they's  a  gale  blowin'  I  goes 
aloft  t'  the  clouds  an'  shakes  a  foot  up  there.' 

"  '  Do  you,  now  ? '  said  the  skipper,  not  know- 
ing whether  to  take  this  in  joke  or  earnest. 

"  *  Believe  me,  sir,'  said  the  man,  with  the 
gravest  of  faces,  '  I'm  a  wonderful  dancer.' 

"  I  was  on  deck  when  they  came  aboard.  It 
was  then  dusk.  I  noticed  nothing  out  of  the  or- 
dinary in  my  customer's  appearance.  He  was  a 
large,  big-boned  man,  well  supplied  with  fat  and 
muscle,  and  capable,  as  I  thought  at  the  moment, 
of  enduring  all  the  toil  and  hardship  to  which  the 
men  of  that  coast  are  exposed.  The  skipper 
handed  him  over  to  me  without  a  word  of  warn- 
ing, and  went  below  to  the  forecastle,  for  the 
wind  was  blowing  cold  and  misty." 

"  Oh,  well,"  the  skipper  broke  in  from  his  place 
in  a  bunk,  "  how  could  I  tell  that  he  was  mad  ?  " 

"  Whatever,  Skipper  Job,"  the  clerk  resumed, 
with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  "  I  took  him  into  the 
cabin,  and  the  crew  and  you  were  snug  enough 
in  the  forecastle,  where  no  hail  of  mine  could  reach 
you.  It  was  not  until  then,"  he  resumed,  "  when 


THE  MAN  IN  THE  CABIN  199 

the  light  of  the  cabin  lamp  fell  full  upon  him,  that 
I  had  a  proper  appreciation  of  my  customer's 
size  and  strength — not  until  then  that  I  marked 
the  deathly  pallour  of  his  face  and  the  strange  light 
in  his  eyes.  He  was  frowsy,  dirty,  dressed  in 
ragged  moleskin  cloth ;  and  he  had  a  habit  of 
looking  to  right  and  left  and  aloft — anywhere,  it 
appeared,  but  straight  in  my  face — so  that  I 
caught  no  more  than  a  red  flash  from  his  eyes 
from  time  to  time.  I  felt  uneasy,  without  being 
able  to  account  to  myself  for  the  feeling ;  so, 
anxious  to  be  well  rid  of  him,  I  asked,  abruptly, 
in  what  I  could  serve  him. 

"  '  I'm  thinkin'  you'll  not  be  havin'  the  thing  I 
wants,'  said  he. 

"  That  touched  me  on  a  tender  spot.  '  I'm 
thinking,'  said  I,  *  that  we've  a  little  of  all  that 
you  ever  thought  of.' 

"  '  I  don't  think  you  has,'  said  he,  *  but  'twould 
be  best  for  you  if  you  had.' 

"  There  was  a  hidden  meaning  in  that.  Why 
should  it  be  best  for  me  ? 

"  '  And  what  is  it  ?  '  said  I. 

"  *  'Tis  a  spool  o'  silk  thread,'  said  he,  soberly, 
'  t'  bind  the  fairies  with — the  wicked  fairies  that 
tells  me  t'  do  the  things  I  don't  want  t'.  If  you've 


200   The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

any  o'  that,  sir,  I'll  take  all  you  got  aboard,  for  I 
wants  it  bad/ 

"  '  Come,  now,  my  man/  said  I  sharply,  *  stop 
your  joking.  I'm  tired,  and  in  no  humour  for  it. 
What  is  it  you  want  ? ' 

" ' I'm  not  jokin',  sir/  said  he.  '  I  wants  a 
spool  o'  green  silk  thread  t'  lash  the  wicked 
fairies  t'  the  spruce  trees/ 

"  I  could  not  doubt  him  longer ;  there  was  too 
much  longing,  too  much  hopelessness,  in  his  voice 
for  that.  He  was  demented  ;  but  there  are  many 
men  of  that  coast  whom  lonely  toil  has  driven 
mad,  but  yet  who  live  their  lives  through  to  the 
natural  end,  peaceable  folk  and  good  fishermen, 
and  I  thought  that  this  poor  fellow  had  as  good 
a  right  to  trade  with  me  as  the  sanest  man  in 
Shelter  Harbour. 

"'We've  no  green  silk  thread,  sir/  said  I, '  that 
will  securely  lash  fairies  to  spruce  trees.  But  if 
you  want  anything  else,  and  have  fish  to  trade, 
I'll  take  them/ 

"  '  I  wisht  you  had  the  thread/  said  he. 

"'Why?'  saidL 

"  '  'Twould  be  best  for  you/  said  he  with  a 
sigh.  '  If  I  could  tie  the  wicked  fairies  up,  I 
wouldn't  have  t' — have  t' — do  it.  But,'  he  went 


THE  MAN  IN  THE  CABIN          201 

on,  'as  you  haven't  any  thread,  I'll  take  some 
calico  t'  make  a  new  dress  for  my  brother's  little 
maid.' 

"  A  certain  look  of  cunning,  which  overspread 
his  face  at  that  moment,  alarmed  me.  I  thought 
I  had  better  find  out  what  the  wicked  fairies  had 
to  do  with  me. 

"  *  Did  you  meet  the  fairies  to-night  ? '  said  I. 

" '  Ay,'  said  he.  *  I  met  the  crew  o'  wicked 
ones  on  my  way  through  the  bush.' 

"  « And  what  did  they  tell  you  ?  '  said  I. 

"He  signed  to  me  to  be  silent ;  then  he  closed 
the  cabin  door  and  came  close  to  the  counter,  be- 
hind which  I  stood,  with  no  way  of  escape  open. 

"  '  Has  you  got  a  loaded  gun  ? '  he  whispered 
hoarsely. 

"  His  face  was  close  to  mine.  In  his  eyes, 
which  were  now  steady,  two  live,  red  coals  were 
glowing.  I  fell  back  from  him,  frightened  ;  for 
I  now  knew  what  work  the  wicked  fairies  had 
assigned  to  him  for  that  night.  Poor  fellow ! 
Frightened  though  I  was,  I  pitied  him.  I  saw 
his  distress,  and  pitied  him  !  He  was  fighting 
manfully  against  the  impulse ;  but  it  mastered 
him,  at  last,  and  I  realized  that  my  life  was  in 
grave  danger.  I  was  penned  in,  you  know,  and 


202    The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

—they  call  me  '  little  Cook ' — I  was  no  match 
for  him. 

"  *  No/  said  I.     '  I've  no  gun/ 

"  *  Has  you  got  a  knife  ?  '  said  he. 

"  *  Sorry,'  said  I ;  '  but  I'm  sold  out  of  knives.' 

"  '  Has  you  got  a  razor  ? '  said  he. 

"  It  was  high  time  to  mislead  him.  I  saw  an 
opportunity  to  escape. 

"  *  Is  it  razors  you  want  ? '  I  cried.  '  Sure,  I've 
some  grand  ones — big  ones,  boy,  sharp  ones, 
bright  ones.  I  keep  them  in  the  forecastle  where 
'tis  dry.  So  I'll  just  run  up  to  fetch  the  lot  to 
show  you/ 

"  His  eyes  glistened  when  I  spoke  of  the  bright- 
ness and  sharpness  of  those  razors.  With  a  show 
of  confidence,  I  jumped  on  the  counter  and 
swung  my  legs  over.  But  he  pushed  me  back — 
so  angrily,  indeed,  that  I  feared  to  precipitate  the 
encounter  if  I  persisted. 

"  *  Don't  trouble,  sir/  said  he.  '  I'll  find  some- 
thing that'll  answer.  Ha  ! '  said  he,  taking  an 
axe  from  the  rack  and  '  hefting '  it.  'This  will  do.' 

"  '  But  I'm  wanting  to  wash  my  hands,  any- 
way.' said  I. 

" '  'Twill  make  no  difference  in  the  end,'  said 
he  quietly. 


THE  MAN  IN  THE  CABIN          203 

"  I  speak  of  it  calmly  now  ;  but  when  I  found 
myself  alone  in  the  cabin  with  that  poor  madman 
— found  myself  behind  the  counter,  with  no  de- 
fensive weapon  at  hand,  with  my  life  in  the  care 
of  my  wits,  which  are  neither  sharp  nor  ready — 
I  was  in  no  condition  for  calm  thought.  To  hail 
the  skipper  was  out  of  the  question  ;  he  would 
not  hear  me,  and  the  first  shout  would  doubtless 
excite  the  big  man  in  the  moleskin  clothes  beyond 
restraint.  My  hope  of  escape  lay  in  distracting 
his  attention  from  the  matter  in  hand  until  the 
skipper  should  come  aft  of  his  own  notion.  But 
I  made  one  effort  in  another  direction. 

"'Did  you  say  green  silk  thread  or  blue?1 
said  I. 

" '  I  said  green,  sir/ 

"  *  Did  you,  now  ? '  I  exclaimed.  '  Sure,  I 
thought  you  said  blue.  We've  no  blue,  but  we've 
the  green,  and  you'll  be  able  to  lash  the  fairies  to 
the  spruce  trees,  after  all/ 

"  As  a  matter  of  fact,  we  had  a  few  spools  of 
silk  thread,  and  one  of  them  was  green — a  bad 
stock,  as  I  knew  to  my  cost,  for  I  had  long  been 
trying  to  dispose  of  them. 

"  '  'Tis  too  late,'  said  he. 

"  '  No,  no ! '  said  I.    '  You'll  surely  not  be  letting 


204    The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

the  fairies  drive  you  like  that.  You  can  take  the 
green  thread  and  lash  them  all  up  on  the  way 
home/ 

"  '  No,1  he  said  doggedly ;  '  'tis  too  late.  What 
they  told  me  to  do  I  must  do  before  the  clock 
strikes.' 

"' Strikes  what?'  said  I. 

" '  Twelve/  said  he. 

"  With  what  relief  did  I  hear  this !  Twelve 
o'clock?  It  was  now  but  eight.  The  skipper 
would  come  aft  long  before  that  hour. 

"  '  'Tis  a  long  time  to  wait,'  said  I.  '  I'll  make 
up  my  bunk,  and  you  may  lie  down  a  bit  and 
rest.' 

"  *  It  lacks  but  twelve  minutes  of  the  hour,' 
said  he.  '  They's  a  clock  hangin  '  behind  you, 
sir.' 

"  He  indicated  a  cheap  American  alarm  clock. 
It  was  the  last  of  a  half  dozen  I  had  kept  hang- 
ing from  the  roof  of  the  cabin.  I  had  kept  them 
wound  up,  for  the  mere  pleasure  of  hearing  their 
busy  ticking,  but  had  never  set  them — never 
troubled  to  keep  them  running  to  the  right  time. 
When  I  looked  up  I  was  dismayed  to  find  that 
the  clock  pointed  to  twelve  minutes  to  twelve 
o'clock ! 


THE  MAN  IN  THE  CABIN          205 

"  *  'Tis  not  the  right  time,'  I  began.  '  'Tis  far 
too ' 

"  '  Hist  1 '  said  he.  *  Don't  speak.  You've  but 
eleven  minutes  left.' 

"  Thus  we  stood,  the  fisherman  with  his  back 
to  the  door  and  the  axe  in  his  hand,  and  myself 
behind  the  counter,  while  the  cheap  American 
alarm  clock  ticked  off  the  minutes  of  my  life. 
Eleven — ten — nine  !  They  were  fast  flying.  I 
could  think  of  no  plan  to  dissuade  him — no  ruse 
to  outwit  him.  Indeed,  my  mind  was  occupied 
more  with  putting  the  blame  on  that  lying  clock 
than  with  anything  else.  I  had  determined,  of 
course,  to  make  the  best  fight  I  could — to  blow 
out  the  light  at  the  moment  of  attack,  dive 
under  the  counter,  catch  my  man  by  the  legs, 
overturn  him  and  escape  by  the  door  or  there 
fight  it  out.  Nine  minutes — eight — seven  !  At 
that  moment  I  caught  a  long  hail  from  the 
shore. 

"  *  Schooner  ahoy  !     Ahoy  ! ' 

"I  do  not  think  the  fisherman  heard  it.  It 
was  too  faint — too  far  off ;  and  he  was  too  intent 
upon  the  thing  he  was  to  do. 

"  *  Six  minutes,  sir,'  said  he. 

"  I  wondered  if  Job  had  heard.     The  hail  was 


206    The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

repeated.  Then  I  heard  Skipper  Job  answer 
from  the  deck.  At  that  the  fisherman  started  ; 
but  his  alarm  passed  in  a  moment. 

"  *  Ahoy  ! '  shouted  Skipper  Job. 

"  '  Has  you  got  a  strange  man  aboard  ? '  came 
from  the  shore. 

"  *  Yes,  sir,'  Job  called. 

"  '  Watch  him,'  from  the  shore.     '  He's  mad.' 

"  '  Oh,  he's  all  right,'  Job  called.  '  He's  harm- 
less.' 

"  Then  silence.  My  hope  of  relief  vanished 
I  should  have  to  make  the  fight,  after  all,  I 
thought. 

"  '  Five  minutes,  sir,'  said  the  madman. 

"  Had  Skipper  Job  gone  below  again  ?  Or 
would  he  come  aft  ?  For  two  minutes  not  a  word 
was  said.  My  customer  and  I  were  waiting  for 
the  first  stroke  of  twelve.  Soon  I  heard  voices 
forward  ;  then  the  tramp  of  feet  coming  aft  over 
the  deck — treading  softly.  They  paused  by  the 
house,  and  the  whispering  ceased.  Was  it  a 
rescue,  or  was  it  not  ?  I  could  not  tell.  The 
men  above  seemed  to  have  no  concern  with  me. 
But,  indeed,  they  had. 

"'John,  b'y,'  a  strange  voice  called,  *  is  you 
below?' 


THE  MAN  IN  THE  CABIN          207 

" '  Tis  me  brother  Timothy,1  my  customer 
whispered.  '  I  must  be  goin'  home.1 

"  '  John,  b'y,  is  you  below  ? ' 

"  «  Ay,  Timothy  ! ' 

"  '  Come  up,  b'y.  I'm  goin'  ashore  now,  an' 
'tis  time  you  was  in  bed.1 

"  My  customer  put  up  the  axe,  and,  with  a  sign 
to  me  to  keep  silence,  went  on  deck,  with  me  fol- 
lowing. He  jumped  in  the  punt,  as  docile  as  a 
child,  gave  us  all  good-night,  and  was  rowed 
ashore.  We  did  not  see  him  again  ;  for  the  wind 
blew  fresh  from  the  nor' west  in  the  morning,  and 
by  night  we  were  anchored  at  Point-o'-Bay. 
Whether  or  not  the  fairies  had  commanded  the 
poor  fellow  to  kill  me  at  twelve  o'clock,  I  do  not 
know.  He  did  not  say  so  ;  but  I  think  they 
had.*' 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

*n  Which  a  Pirate's  Cave  grows  Interesting •,  and 
Two  Young  Members  of  the  Ethnological  and 
Antiquarian  Club  of  St.  John 's  Undertake  an 
Adventure  under  the  Guidance  of  Billy  Topsail 

THERE  landed  in  Ruddy  Cove,  that  sum- 
mer, two  youngsters  from  St  John's  on  a 
vacation — city  schoolboys  both :  not  fisher 
lads.  They  were  pleasant  fellows,  and  were 
soon  fast  friends  with  Billy  Topsail  and  the  lads 
of  the  place,  by  whom  they  were  regarded  with 
some  awe,  but  still  with  great  friendliness. 

"  Hello ! "  the  visitors  exclaimed,  when  they 
clapped  eyes  on  Billy.  "  Where  you  going  ?  " 

"  Fishin'." 

"  Take  us,  won't  you,  please  ?  " 

Billy  Topsail  grinned. 

"Won't  you?" 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Billy.     "  I  'low  so.'1 

They  went  to  the  grounds  ;  and  the  day  was 
blue,  and  the  sea  was  quiet,  and  Billy  Topsail  and 
the  schoolboys  had  a  marvellously  splendid  time; 

so  they  were  all  friends  together  from  that  out 

208 


THE  MYSTERIOUS  CAVE          209 

Tom  Call  and  Jack  Wither  were  members  of 
what  they  called,  with  no  little  pride,  "  The  Eth- 
nological and  Antiquarian  Club  of  St.  John's." 
The  object  of  this  club  of  lads  was,  in  the  be- 
ginning, to  preserve  relics  of  the  exterminated 
Beothuk  tribe  ;  but  to  the  little  collections  of  stone 
implements  and  flint-lock  guns  were  soon  added 
collections  of  mineral  specimens,  of  fossils,  of 
stamps,  of  fish  and  shells  and  sea-weeds,  of  in- 
sects, of  old  prints  and  documents — in  short,  of 
everything  to  which  an  inveterate  collector  might 
attach  a  value. 

Wherever  they  went  in  the  long  vacation, 
whether  to  the  coast  or  to  the  interior,  not  one  of 
them  but  kept  an  eye  open  for  additions  to  the 
club  collections  ;  and,  though  much  of  what  they 
Drought  back  had  to  be  rejected,  it  was  not  long 
before  they  had  the  gratification  of  observing  an 
occasional  reference  to  "  the  collections  of  the 
Ethnological  and  Antiquarian  Club  "  in  the  city 
newspapers. 

All  this  accounts  for  the  presence  of  Tom  Call 
and  Jack  Wither  in  the  Little  Tickle  Basin,  in 
the  thick  of  the  islands  off  Ruddy  Cove,  one  va- 
cation day,  and  for  their  interest  in  a  rusted  iron 
mooring-ring,  which  was  there  sunk  in  the  rock 


210   The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"  And  nobody  knows  who  put  it  there  ?  "  Tom 
asked,  curiously  fingering  the  old  ring. 

"  No,"  replied  Billy  Topsail,  who  had  taken 
them  over  ;  "  but  they  says  'twas  the  pirates  put 
it  there,  long  ago." 

"  Pirates  !  "  cried  Tom.     "  Do  they  say  that  ?  " 

"  'Twas  me  grandfather  told  me  so." 

It  may  be  that  pirates  harboured  in  the  Little 
Tickle  Basin  in  the  days  when  they  made  the 
Caribbean  Sea  a  fearsome  place  to  sail  upon. 
When  the  Newfoundland  coast  was  remote,  un- 
inhabited, uncharted,  no  safer  hiding  place  could 
have  been  found  than  that  quiet  little  basin,  hid- 
den away  among  the  thousand  barren  islands 
of  the  bay.  If,  as  they  say,  every  pirate  had 
his  place  of  refuge,  the  iron  ring  is  some  evidence, 
at  least,  that  a  buccaneer  was  accustomed  to  fly 
to  the  basin  when  pursuit  got  too  persistent  and 
too  hot  for  him. 

"  Of  course !  "  said  Tom,  when  they  were  sail- 
ing back  to  Ruddy  Cove.  "  How  else  can  you 
account  for  that  ring?  I  bet  you,"  he  concluded, 
"  that  dozens  of  pirates  had  dens  on  this  coast." 

"  Now,  Tom,"  said  Jack,  "  you  know  as  well 
as  I  do  that  that's  just  a  little  too " 

"Well,"    he   interrupted,    "everybody  knows 


THE  MYSTERIOUS  CAVE          211 

that  pirates  used  to  come  here.  You'll  find  it  in 
the  histories.  It  wouldn't  surprise  me  to  learn 
that  there  is  a  cave  around  here." 

"  There  is,"  said  Billy  Topsail. 

" There!"  cried  Tom,  his  eyes  shining.  "I 
told  you  so  1 " 

"  'Tis  a  wonderful  curious  place,  too,"  Billy 
went  on.  "  You  has  t'  crawl  through  a  hole  t' 
get  inside.  Sure,  the  hole  is  no  bigger  than  a 
scuttle.  You  could  close  it  with  a  fair  sized  rock. 
But  once  you  gets  through,  the  cave  is  as  big  as 
a  room.  'Twould  hold  a  score  o'  men  very  com- 
fortable." 

Tom  gave  Jack  a  meaning  glance.  Then  he 
turned  to  Billy  Topsail. 

"  Can  you  take  us  there  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  don't  know  as  I  could.  I've  only  heered 
tell  they  was  a  cave  like  that." 

"  And  you've  never  been  there  ?  " 

"  Not  me.1' 

Tom's  face  fell^-fell  so  suddenly  and  to  an  ex- 
pression so  woeful  that  Jack  laughed  outright, 
though  he  sympathized  with  Tom's  disappoint- 
ment. 

"  But  I  knows  a  man  that  has  been  there," 
Billy  continued.  "  He's  the  man  that  found  it 


212    The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

Tis  like,  now,  that  he's  the  only  man  that's  ever 
been  inside." 

"  Then  the  place  isn't  well  known  ?  " 

"  So  far  as  I  can  tell,  nobody  knows  it  but  oF 
Joe  West." 

When  they  ran  Billy's  punt  to  old  Joe  West's 
stage,  at  Ruddy  Cove,  that  night,  Joe  was  inside, 
splitting  the  day's  catch  of  cod.  They  broached 
the  object  of  their  visit  without  delay.  Would 
he  guide  them  to  the  cave  at  Little  Tickle  Basin  ? 
But  Joe  shook  his  head.  The  squid  were  in  the 
harbour,  and  the  fish  were  taking  the  bait  in 
lively  fashion.  The  loss  of  a  day's  catch  was 
"  beyond  thinkin'  of." 

"  Do  you  know  the  bearings  ?  "  Tom  asked. 

"  T'  be  sure.  'Tis  very  simple  t'  get  near  the 
spot ;  but  'tis  wonderful  hard  t'  find  the  hole. 
'Tis  all  overgrown.  You  might  hunt  for  a  year, 
I'm  thinkin',  an'  never  find  it.  When  you  does  find 
it,  it  takes  a  deal  o'  nerve  t'  crawl  in.  'Tis  that  dark 
an'  damp  !  You  keeps  thinkin'  all  the  time,  too, 
that  something  will  fall  over  the  hole  an'  shut  you 
in.  If  you  crawls  through,"  Joe  concluded,  im- 
pressively, "  be  sure  one  o'  you  stays  outside." 

"  But  we've  no  chart  of  the  place,"  Tom  com- 
plained. 


THE  MYSTERIOUS  CAVE          213 

"  If  you've   paper  an'  a   bit  o'   pencil,"  said 
Skipper  Joe,  "  I'll  draw  you  one." 
Here  is  what  he  drew  : 


Skipper  Joe,  of  course,  carefully  explained  his 
drawing.  "  Does  you  see  where  the  arrow 
points  ?  "  said  he.  "  Well,  'tis  there.  You  gets 
the  head  o'  that  little  rock  in  line  with  the  point, 
at  high  water,  an'  there  you  are.  The  cliff  is 
rough,  an'  covered  with  a  growth  o'  spruce. 
The  hole  is  about  half  way  up,  openin'  off  a 
mossy  ledge.  You'll  have  t'  pry  around  a  won- 
derful lot  t'  find  it." 

"  What's  it  like  inside  ?  "  Tom  asked,  eagerly. 

"  Well,  they  is  a  deal  o'  birch  bark  scattered 


214   The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

around,  an'  a  lot  o'  broken  rock.  I  saw  that  by 
the  light  of  a  match  ;  but  I  was  too  scared  t'  stay 
long,  an'  I  haven't  never  been  there  since." 

Billy  Topsail  agreed  to  sail  the  sloop  to  Little 
Tickle  Basin  on  the  next  day.  Then  the  boys 
walked  home  by  the  road,  much  excited.  Indeed, 
Tom,  who  was  of  an  imaginative  and  enthusias- 
tic turn,  was  fairly  transported.  No  flight  of 
fancy  was  too  high  for  him — no  hope  too  wild. 
The  chart  passed  from  his  hand  to  Jack's  and 
back  again  a  hundred  times.  The  crude,  strange 
drawing,  with  its  significant  arrow,  touched  all 
the  pirate  tales  with  reality. 

"If  it  had  been  only  a  cave,  without  a  rusted 
mooring-ring,  it  wouldn't  have  been  so  much," 
said  Tom.  "  But  with  the  ring — with  the  ring, 
my  boy — a  narrow,  hidden  passage  to  a  cave 
means  a  great  deal  more." 

Jack  asked  Tom  what  he  was  "  driving  at." 

"  I  think,"  said  he  calmly,  "  that  there  is  buried 
treasure  there." 

Jack  scoffed. 

"  Very  well,"  said  Tom ;  "  but  you  must  re- 
member that  these  discoveries  come  unexpectedly. 
They're  stumbled  on.  You  can't  expect  to  find  a 
sign-post  near  buried  treasure." 


THE  MYSTERIOUS  CAVE          215 

That  night  they  lay  awake  for  a  long  time. 
Tom  and  Jack  were  bed-fellows  at  Ruddy  Cove. 
Struck  by  a  simple  idea,  Jack  awoke  his  friend. 

"  Tom,"  said  he,  "  I  think  we'll  find  something 
there." 

"Spanish  gold  or  English?"  Tom  asked, 
sleepily. 

"  It  will  be  something!'  Jack  replied.  "  Some- 
thing we  want." 


CHAPTER  XXV 

In  Which  There  is  a  Landslide  at  Little  Tickle 
Basin  and  Something  of  Great  Interest  and 
Peculiar  Value  is  Discovered  in  the  Cave 

NOON  of  the  next  day  found  the  three 
boys  at  Little  Tickle  Basin,  with  the  punt 
moored  to  the  mysterious  ring.     Many 
a  vessel  had  floated  in  that  snug  berth  before,  no 
doubt.     But  whose?     And  what  flag  did  they 
fly?    When  the  tide  was  at  the  full,  the  boys 
set  off  across  the  basin  in  the  punt ;  and  they 
were  soon  ashore,  with  the  head  of  the  little  rock 
in    line  with   the   point  of  land,   as  the  chart 
directed. 

"  Now  for  it !  "  cried  Tom. 
And  up  the  cliff  he  started,  Jack  following, 
with  Billy  Topsail,  who  was  quite  as  deeply 
stirred  as  they,  bringing  up  the  rear,  a  pick  in 
one  hand  and  a  shovel  in  the  other.  It  was  not 
hard  climbing.  The  declivity  could  hardly  be 
called  a  cliff.  Rather,  it  was  a  hill,  rising  sharply 
from  the  water's  edge — steep,  strewn  with  broken 
rock,  loose  turf  and  decaying  stumps,  and  over- 

216 


THE  SKULL  217 

grown  with  moss  and  ill-nourished  shrubs.  Jack 
was  impressed  with  the  instability  of  the  whole 
mass. 

"  If  it  weren't  for  the  juts  of  naked  rock,"  he 
thought,  with  some  alarm,  "  this  stuff  would  all 
slip  into  the  water,  like  snow  from  the  roof  of  a 
house." 

But  he  was  far  too  deeply  interested  in  the 
search  to  dwell  upon  such  speculation,  however 
threateningly  the  imagination  might  present  the 
possibilities.  They  all  kept  to  the  perpendicular 
line,  from  their  landing  place  to  the  crest  of  the 
hill ;  and  they  searched  painstakingly,  tearing 
aside  the  shrubs,  peering  under  overhanging 
rocks,  prying  into  dark  holes.  It  was  all  with- 
out reward.  At  last,  Jack  came  to  the  top  of  the 
hill.  Tom  was  below  him,  following  a  narrow 
ledge ;  and  Billy  Topsail,  now  wearied  of  the 
search,  was  sitting  on  a  boulder,  lower  down. 

"  Hello,  Tom  ! "  Jack  shouted.     "  What  luck  ?  '• 

Jack  caught  hold  of  a  shrub,  and  leaned  out- 
ward, in  an  attempt  to  catch  sight  of  Tom. 

"  Nothing  yet,"  Tom  answered. 

Then  Jack's  feet,  which  had  been  resting  on  an 
insecure  footing  of  loose  stones,  shot  from  under 
him.  He  clung  to  his  shrub  and  held  his  posi- 


218    The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

tion,  but  in  the  effort  he  dislodged  a  small 
boulder,  which  went  crashing  down,  dislodging 
earth  and  the  accumulations  of  broken  rock  in 
its  course.  He  had  started  a  little  avalanche ; 
and  the  most  he  could  do  was  to  cry  a  horrified 
warning  and  watch  it  go  rolling  down,  growing 
greater  as  it  went. 

"  Tom  ! "  he  called.     "  Oh,  Tom  !  " 

This  time  there  was  no  answer.  Dead  silence 
followed  the  frantic  call  and  the  plunge  of  the 
avalanche  into  the  water.  What  had  become  of 
Tom  ?  Billy  Topsail,  who  had  found  shelter  in 
the  "  lee  "  of  the  boulder  upon  which  he  had  been 
sitting,  suggested,  when  Jack  joined  him,  that 
Tom  had  been  swept  into  the  water  by  the  flood 
of  stones  and  earth.  Jack  scouted  the  suggestion. 
Had  he  not  watched  the  course  of  that  selfsame 
flood  ?  Tom  had  been  on  the  ledge.  He  must 
still  be  there — unconscious,  probably,  and  unable 
to  answer  to  the  call  of  his  name. 

"  We'll  look  there  first,  at  any  rate,"  he  de- 
termined. 

A  great  part  of  the  avalanche  had  lodged  on 
the  ledge.  Stones  and  moss  and  new  earth  lay 
in  slanting  heaps  in  many  places  ;  but  of  Tom's 
body  there  was  no  sign. 


THE  SKULL  219 

"He've  been  swep'  into  the  water,  I  fears," 
Billy  declared. 

t:  Or  buried  on  the  ledge,"  said  Jack. 

Jack  called  to  his  friend  again.  While  they 
listened,  straining  their  ears  for  the  remotest 
response,  he  had  his  eye  fixed  on  a  remnant 
of  the  avalanche  near  by.  To  his  unbounded 
astonishment,  he  perceived  evidences  of  some 
disturbance  within  the  heap.  The  disturbance 
suddenly  developed  into  an  upheaval.  A  foot 
and  an  ankle  shot  out.  A  moment  later  Billy 
Topsail  had  that  foot  and  its  mate  in  his  hands 
and  was  hauling  with  small  regard  for  the  body 
behind. 

It  was  Tom. 

"  I've  found  the  cave  !  "  he  gasped,  when  they 
had  set  him  on  his  feet,  profusely  perspiring, 
flushed  and  exceedingly  dirty.  "  But  what's  up  ? 
How  did  I  get  shut  in  there  ?  Part  of  the  hill 
slipped  away  !  I  thought  it  was  a  landslide.  I 
found  the  hole,  and  started  to  crawl  in,  to  make 
sure  that  it  was  the  place  before  I  said  anything. 
Then  I  heard  a  racket ;  and  then  the  light  was  shut 
out.  I  thought  I  might  as  well  go  on,  though,  and 
find  out  afterwards  what  had  happened.  So  on 
I  went.  And  it's  the  cave,  boy ! "  he  cried 


220   The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"When  I  made  sure  of  that,"  he  went  on,  "I 
wanted  to  get  out  in  a  hurry.  I  was  afraid  to 
crawl  into  that  hole  head  foremost — afraid  of 
being  jammed.  Of  course,  I  knew  that  some- 
thing had  fallen  over  the  mouth  of  it ;  and  I 
thought  I  could  kick  the  thing  out  of  the  way 
just  as  easily  as  I  could  push  it,  and  meantime 
have  all  the  air  there  was.  So  out  I  came,  feet 
first.  Have  you  got  that  pick  and  shovel,  Billy  ? 
Let's  clear  this  stuff  away  from  the  hole  and 
go  in." 

"What's  in  there,  Tom  ?"  Jack  asked. 

"  You'll  soon  find  out." 

They  left  Billy  Topsail  outside,  as  a  precaution 
against  entombment.  Tom  went  first  with  the 
lantern.  When,  looking  along  the  passage,  Jack 
saw  a  flare  of  light,  he  followed.  The  passage 
was  about  six  feet  long,  and  so  narrow  that  he 
could  not  quite  go  upon  hands  and  knees.  He 
squirmed  through,  with  his  heart  in  his  mouth, 
and  found  himself,  at  last,  in  a  roomy  chamber, 
apparently  rough-hewn,  wherein  Tom  was  danc- 
ing about  like  a  wild  Indian. 

"  Pirate  gold  !  "  he  shouted.     "  Pirate  gold ! " 

"  Where  is  it  ? "  Jack  cried,  believing,  for  the 
moment,  that  he  had  discovered  it  in  sacks. 


THE  SKULL  221 

"  Dig,  boy  ! "  said  Tom.     "  It's  underground." 

At  any  rate,  a  glance  about,  by  the  light  of  the 
lantern,  discovered  no  treasure.  It  was  under- 
ground, if  it  were  anywhere.  So  they  set  about 
unearthing  it  without  delay.  But  there  was  no 
earth — nothing  but  broken  rock.  The  shovel 
was  of  small  use  ;  they  took  turns  with  the  pick, 
labouring  hard  and  excitedly,  expecting,  mo- 
mentarily, to  catch  the  glitter  of  gold.  Occa- 
sionally, the  strength  of  both  was  needed  to  lift 
some  great,  obstinate  stone  out  of  the  way ;  but, 
for  the  most  part,  while  one  wielded  the  pick,  the 
other  removed  the  loosened  rock. 

"'What  in  the  world  is  this  thing ?"  Tom 
asked. 

He  had  taken  a  round,  brown  object  from  the 
excavation.  Suddenly  he  let  it  drop,  with  a  lit- 
tle cry  of  horror,  and  started  to  his  feet.  Jack 
picked  it  up  and  held  it  close  to  the  lantern. 

"  Pirates !  "  whispered  Tom,  now  utterly  horri- 
fied. 

"  Last  night,"  said  Jack,  "  I  told  you  that  we'd 
find  something.  We've  found  it." 

"  We've  found  a  pirates'  den,"  said  Tom. 

"  No,"  Jack  replied,  handing  him  the  skull ; 
1  we've  found  a  Beothuk  Indian  burial  cave. 


222    The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

We've  struck  it  rich  for  the  Ethnological  and 
Antiquarian  Club ! " 

"Well,"  Tom  admitted,  ruefully,  "  that's  some- 
thing!" 

Struck  it  rich  ?  Indeed,  they  had  !  The  most 
valuable  part  of  the  collection  of  Indian  relics 
now  in  the  club's  museum,  came  from  that  cave. 
The  excavation  occupied  three  days  ;  and  at  the 
end  of  it,  when  they  laid  their  treasures  out  at 
Ruddy  Cove,  they  were  thrown  into  a  transport 
of  delight.  In  addition  to  the  skeleton  remains, 
which  have  since  served  a  highly  useful  purpose, 
they  had  found  stone  hatchets,  knives,  spear- 
heads, clubs,  and  various  other  implements  of 
warfare  and  the  hunt ;  three  clay  masks,  a  curi- 
ous clay  figure  in  human  form,  and  three  com- 
plete specimens  of  Indian  pottery,  with  a  number 
of  fragments. 

The  rusted  iron  mooring-ring  has  never  beer* 
explained. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

In  Which  Billy  Topsail  Determines  to  go  to  the 
Ice  in  the  Spring  of  the  Year  and  Young 
Archibald  Armstrong  of  St.  Johri  s  is  Permitted 
to  Set  Out  Upon  an  Adventure  Which  Promises 
to  be  Perilous  but  Profitable 

IN  the  winter  when  he  was  fifteen  years  old, 
Billy  Topsail  determined  to  go  to  the  ice  with 
the  great  sealing  fleet  in  the  spring,  if  it 
could  be  managed  by  hook  or  crook.  His  fa- 
ther had  no  objection  to  make.  The  boy  was 
old  enough  to  look  out  for  himself,  he  knew ; 
and  he  was  sure  that  the  experience  would  com- 
plete the  process  of  making  a  man  of  him. 

"  Go,  b'y,"  said  he,  "  if  you  can." 

There  was  the  difficulty.  What  sealing  cap- 
tain would  take  a  lad  of  fifteen  when  there  were 
grown  men  to  be  shipped  ?  Billy  was  at  a  loss. 
But  he  determined,  nevertheless,  that  he  would 
go  to  the  ice,  and  selected  Long  Tom  Harbour 
as  a  promising  port  to  sail  from,  for  it  was  near 
by  and  well  known.  From  Long  Tom  Harbour 

then,  he  would  go  seal  hunting  in  the  spring  of 

223 


224    The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

the  year  if  it  could  be  managed  by  a  boy  with 
courage  and  no  little  ingenuity. 
"  Oh,  1 11  go  somehow  !  "  said  he. 

It  was  twilight  of  a  blustering  February  day. 
Sir  Archibald  Armstrong,  the  great  St.  John's 
merchant,  sat  alone  in  his  office,  with  his  chair 
drawn  close  to  the  low,  broad  window,  which 
overlooked  the  wharves  and  the  ice-strewn 
harbour  beyond ;  and  while  the  fire  roared  and 
the  wind  drove  the  snow  against  the  panes,  he 
lost  himself  in  profound  meditation.  He  stared 
absently  at  the  swarm  of  busy  men — now  almost 
hidden  in  the  dusk  and  storm — and  at  the  lights 
of  the  sealing  fleet,  which  lay  there  fitting  out 
for  the  spring  voyage  to  the  drift-ice  of  the 
north ;  but  no  sound  of  the  activity  on  deck  or 
dock  could  disturb  the  quiet  of  the  little  office 
where  the  fire  blazed  and  crackled  and  the  snow 
fell  softly  against  the  window  panes. 

"  Beg  pardon,  sir,"  a  clerk  interrupted,  putting 
his  head  in  at  the  door.  "  Cap'n  Hand,  sir." 

Captain  Hand,  of  the  sealing  ship  Dictator, 
was  admitted.  He  was  a  thick,  stubby,  hammer- 
fisted,  fiery-faced  old  man,  marked  with  the  mark 
of  the  sea.  His  eyebrows  made  one  broad  black 


INTRODUCING  ARCHIE  ARMSTRONG  225 

band  of  wiry  hair,  stretching  from  temple  to  tem- 
ple, where  they  grew  in  the  fashion  of  two  sharp 
little  horns  ;  and  he  had  a  habit  of  dropping  them 
over  his  little  red  eyes,  as  if  in  a  passion — but  no- 
body was  deceived  by  that ;  for,  save  in  moments 
of  righteous  anger,  the  light  of  good  humour  still 
shone  in  the  little  red  eyes,  however  fiercely  they 
flashed.  The  rest  of  his  face  was  beard — a  wilder- 
ness of  gray  beard  ;  it  sprang  from  somewhere 
below  his  shirt  collar,  and  straggled  in  a  tangled 
growth  over  his  cheek-bones  and  neck. 

"  Report  t'  you,  sir,"  said  he,  in  a  surprisingly 
gruff  voice  ;  and  at  the  same  time  he  pulled  the 
lobe  of  his  right  ear,  which  was  his  invariable 
manner  of  salute. 

Sir  Archibald  and  Captain  Hand  were  in  close 
consultation  for  half  an  hour  ;  during  all  of  which 
time  the  burly  captain's  eyes  were  thickly 
screened  by  his  eyebrows. 

'  Oh,  I  sees,  sir — I  sees,"  said  he,  rising,  at  the 
end  of  it.  "  Oh,  ay !  Of  course,  sir — of  course !  " 

"  And  you'll  take  good  care  ?  "  Sir  Archibald 
began,  almost  tenderly. 

"Oh,  ay!"  heartily.  "I  ain't  no  nurse,  as  T 
tells  you  fair  ;  but  you  needn't  worry  about  him, 


226    The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"  His  mother  will  be  anxious.  She'll  hold  you 
responsible,  captain." 

Captain  Hand  violently  pulled  the  lobe  of  his 
right  ear,  and  turned  to  go.  At  the  door  he 
halted.  "Tim  Tuttle  o'  Raggles  Island  has 
turned  up  again,  sir/1  he  said,  "  an'  wants  t'  be 
shipped." 

" Tuttle?"  muttered  Sir  Archibald.  "  He's 
the  man  who  led  the  mutiny  on  the  Never  Say 
Die.  Well,  as  you  will,  captain." 

"  Oh,  I'll  ship  him  ! "  said  the  captain,  grimly ; 
and  with  a  last  pull  at  his  ear  he  disappeared. 

On  the  heels  of  the  captain's  departure  came 
Archie.  He  was  Sir  Archibald's  son  ;  there  was 
no  doubt  about  that :  a  fine,  hardy  lad — robust, 
as  every  young  Newfoundlander  should  be ; 
straight,  agile,  alert,  with  head  carried  high  ; 
merry,  quick-minded,  ready-tongued,  fearless  in 
wind  and  high  sea.  His  hair  was  tawny,  his 
eyes  blue  and  wide  and  clear,  his  face  broad  and 
good  humoured.  All  this  appeared  as  he  pulled 
off  his  cap,  threw  back  the  flaps  of  his  fur-lined 
overcoat,  picked  a  stray  thread  from  his  knicker- 
bockers, and,  at  last,  eagerly  approached  his 
father. 

"  You  little  dandy  ! "  laughed  his  father. 


INTRODUCING  ARCHIE  ARMSTRONG  227 

Archie  laughed,  too — and  flushed.  He  knew 
that  his  father  liked  to  poke  fun  at  him  because 
the  cut  of  his  coat,  the  knot  in  his  cravat,  the 
polish  on  his  boots,  were  matters  of  such  deep 
concern  to  the  boy. 

"  Oh,  come  now,  father !  "  he  protested.  "  Tell 
me  whether  I'm  to  go  or  not" 

For  reply,  Sir  Archibald  gravely  led  his  son  to 
the  window.  It  was  his  purpose  to  impress  the 
boy  with  the  wealth  and  power  (and,  therefore, 
with  the  responsibilities)  of  the  firm  of  Armstrong 
and  Son. 

"  Come,"  said  he  ;  "  let  us  watch  them  fitting 
out  the  fleet." 

The  wealth  of  the  firm  was  vast,  the  power 
great.  Directly  or  indirectly,  Sir  Archibald's 
business  interests  touched  every  port  in  New- 
foundland, every  cove  of  the  Labrador,  the  mar- 
kets of  Spain  and  Portugal,  of  the  West  Indies 
and  South  American  Republics.  His  fishing- 
schooners  went  south  to  the  Banks  and  north 
to  the  gray,  cold  seas  off  Cape  Chidley ;  the 
whalers  gave  chase  in  the  waters  of  the  Gulf  and 
of  the  Straits  ;  the  traders  ran  from  port  to  port 
of  all  that  rugged  coast ;  the  barques  carried  cod 
and  salmon  and  oil  to  all  the  markets  of  the 


228    The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

world.  And  when  the  ice  came  drifting  down  in 
the  spring,  the  sealers  scattered  themselves  over 
the  waters  of  the  North  Atlantic. 

Archie  looked  into  the  dusk  without,  where  lay 
the  ships  and  wharves  and  warehouses  that  told 
the  story. 

"  They  are  mine,"  said  Sir  Archibald,  gravely, 
looking  deep  into  his  son's  wide-opened  eyes* 
"  Some  day " 

Archie  was  alarmed.  What  did  it  all  mean  ? 
Why  was  his  father  so  grave?  Why  had  he 
boasted  of  his  wealth  ? 

"  They  will  be  yours,"  Sir  Archibald  concluded. 
After  a  pause,  he  continued  :  "  The  firm  has  had 
an  honourable  career  through  three  generations  of 
our  family.  My  father  gave  it  to  me  with  a  spot 
less  reputation.  More  than  that,  with  the  busi- 
ness he  gave  me  the  perfect  faith  of  every  man, 
woman  and  child  of  the  outports.  The  firm  has 
dealt  with  its  fishermen  and  sealers  as  man  with 
man ;  it  has  never  wronged,  or  oppressed,  or  de- 
spised them.  You  are  now  fifteen  years  old.  In 
September,  you  are  going  to  an  English  public 
school,  and  thence  to  an  English  university. 
You  will  meet  with  new  ideals.  The  warehouses 
and  ships,  the  fish  and  fat,  will  not  mean  so  much 


INTRODUCING  ARCHIE  ARMSTRONG  229 

to  you.  You  will  forget.  It  may  be,  even — for 
you  are  something  of  a  dandy,  you  know — 
that  you  will  be  ashamed  to  acknowledge  that 
your  father  is  a  dealer  in  fish  and  seal-oil ; 
that " 

Archie  drew  breath  to  speak. 

"  But  1  want  you  to  remember"  Sir  Archibald 
went  on,  lifting  his  hand.  "  I  want  you  to  know  a 
man  when  you  meet  one,  whatever  the  clothes 
he  wears.  The  men  upon  whom  the  fortunes  of 
this  firm  are  founded  are  true  men.  They  are 
strong,  and  brave,  and  true.  Their  work  is  toil- 
some and  perilous,  and  their  lives  are  not  unused 
to  deprivation ;  but  they  are  cheerful,  and  inde- 
pendent, and  fearless,  through  it  all — stout  hearts, 
every  one  of  them  !  They  deserve  respectful  and 
generous  treatment  at  the  hands  of  their  em- 
ployers. For  that  reason  I  want  you  to  know 
them  more  intimately — to  know  them  as  ship- 
mates know  one  another — that  you  may  be  in 
sympathy  with  them.  I  am  confident  that  you 
will  respect  them,  because  I  know  that  you  love 
all  manly  qualities.  And  so,  for  your  good,  and 
for  their  good,  and  for  the  good  of  the  firm,  I 
have  decided  that  you  may " 

"That  I  may  go  ?"  Archie  cried,  eagerly. 


230   The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"  With  Captain  Hand,  of  the  Dictator,  which 
puts  out  from  Long  Tom  Harbour  at  midnight 
of  March  tenth," 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

While  Billy  Topsail  is  About  His  Own  Business 
Archie  Armstrong  Stands  on  the  Bridge  of  the 
Dictator  and  Captain  Hand  Orders  "Full 
Speed  Ahead  /  "  on  the  Stroke  of  Twelve 

AND  so  it  came  to  pass  that,  at  near  mid- 
night of  the  tenth  of  March,  Archie  Arm- 
strong, warmly  clad  in  furs,  and  fairly  on 
fire  with  excitement,  was  aboard  the  staunch  old 
sealer,  at  Long  Tom,  half  way  up  the  east  coast. 
It  was  blowing  half  a  gale  from  the  open  sea, 
which  lay,  hidden  by  the  night,  just  beyond  the 
harbour  rocks.  The  wind  was  stinging  cold,  as 
though  it  had  swept  over  immense  areas  of  ice, 
dragging  the  sluggish  fields  after  it.  It  howled 
aloft,  rattled  over  the  decks,  and  flung  the  smoke 
from  the  funnel  into  the  darkness  inland.  Archie 
breasted  it  with  the  captain  and  the  mate  on  the 
bridge ;  and  he  was  impatient  as  they  to  be 
off  from  the  sheltered  water,  fairly  started  in  the 
race  for  the  north,  though  a  great  gale  was  to  be 
weathered. 

"Good-bye,  Skipper   John/'  he    had  said  to 

John  Roth,  with  whom  he  had  spent  the  three 

231 


232    The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

days  of  waiting  in  this  small  outport.  "  I'll  send 
you  two  white-coats  (young  seals)  for  Aunt 
Mary's  sitting-room,  when  I  get  back." 

"  I  be  past  me  labour,  b'y,"  replied  John,  who 
was,  indeed,  now  beyond  all  part  in  the  great 
spring  harvest,  "  but  I'll  give  you  the  toast  o' 
the  old  days.  '  Red  decks,  an'  many  o'  them  1 '  " 

"  Red  decks,"  cried  Archie,  quoting  the  old 
proverb,  "  make  happy  homes." 

"  'Tis  that,"  said  old  John,  striking  the  ground 
with  his  staff.  "  An'  I  wish  1  was  goin'  along 
with  you,  b'y.  There's  no  sealin'  skipper  like 
Cap'n  Hand." 

The  ship  was  now  hanging  offshore,  with 
steam  up  and  the  anchor  snugly  stowed.  Not 
before  the  stroke  of  twelve  of  that  night  was  it 
permitted  by  the  law  to  clear  from  Long  Tom. 
Fair  play  was  thus  assured  to  all,  and  the  young 
seals  were  protected  from  an  untimely  attack. 
It  was  a  race  from  all  the  outports  to  the  ice,  with 
the  promise  of  cargoes  of  fat  to  stiffen  courage 
and  put  a  will  for  work  in  the  hearts  of  men :  for 
a  good  catch,  in  its  deeper  meaning,  is  like  a 
bounteous  harvest ;  and  what  it  brings  to  the 
wives  and  little  folk  in  all  the  cottages  of  that 
cruel  coast  is  worth  the  hardship  and  peril. 


"  FULL  SPEED  AHEAD  ! "  233 

"  What's  the  time,  Mr.  Ackell  ?  "  said  the  cap 
tain  to  the  mate,  impatiently 

"  Lacks  forty-three  minutes  o'  the  hour,  sir," 
was  the  reply. 

"  Huh  !  "  growled  the  captain.  "  'Tis  wonder- 
ful long  in  passinV 

"  The  whole  harbour  must  be  down  to  see  the 
start,"  Archie  observed  looking  to  the  shore. 

"  More  nor  that,  b'y,"  said  the  captain.  "  I've 
got  a  Green  Bay  crew.  Most  two  hundred  men 
o'  them,  an'  every  last  one  o'  them  a  mighty 
man.  They's  folk  here  from  all  the  harbours  o' 
the  bay  t'  see  us  off.  Hark  t'  the  guns  they're 
firm'  ! " 

All  the  folk  left  in  Long  Tom — the  women  and 
children  and  old  men — were  at  the  water-side;  with 
additions  from  Morton's  Harbour,  Burnt  Bay,  Ex- 
ploits and  Fortune  Harbour.  Sailing  day  for  the 
sealers !  It  was  the  great  event  of  the  year. 
Torches  flared  on  the  flakes  and  at  the  stages  all 
around  the  harbour.  The  cottages  were  all  il- 
luminated with  tallow  candles.  Guns  were  dis- 
charged in  salute.  "  Godspeed  !  "  was  shouted 
from  shore  to  ship ;  and  you  may  be  sure  that  the 
crew  was  not  slow  to  return  the  good  wishes. 
Archie  marked  one  man  in  particular — a  tall,  lean 


234   The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

fellow,  who  was  clinging  to  the  main  shrouds, 
and  shouting  boisterously. 

"  Well,  we  can't  lose  Tuttle,"  said  the  mate, 
with  a  grin,  indicating  the  man  in  the  shrouds. 

The  captain  frowned ;  and  Archie  wondered 
why.  But  he  thought  no  more  of  the  matter  at 
the  moment — nor,  indeed,  until  he  met  Tuttle 
face  to  face — for  the  wind  was  now  blowing  high  ; 
and  that  was  enough  to  think  of. 

"  Let  it  blow/1  said  bluff  Captain  Hand.  "  'Tis 
not  the  wind  I  cares  about,  b'y.  'Tis  the  ice.  I 
reckon  there's  a  field  o'  drift  ice  offshore.  This 
nor' east  gale  will  jam  the  harbour  in  an  hour,  an* 
I  don't  want  t'  be  trapped  here.  What's  the 
time,  now,  Mr.  Ackell  ?  " 

"  Twenty-seven  minutes  yet,  sir." 

"  Take  her  up  off  Skull  Head.  That's  within 
the  law." 

The  drift  ice  was  coming  in  fast.  There  was 
a  small  field  forming  about  the  steamer,  and 
growing  continuously.  Out  to  sea,  the  night- 
light  now  revealed  a  floe  advancing  with  the 
wind,  threatening  to  seal  tight  the  narrow  har- 
bour entrance. 

"  If  we  have  t'  cut  our  way  out/'  muttered  the 
captain,  "  we'll  cut  as  little  as  we  can.  Mr 


"  FULL  SPEED  AHEAD  ! "          235 

Girth  !  "  he  roared  to  the  second  mate,  "  get  the 
bombs  out.  An'  pick  a  crew  that  knows  how  t' 
use  'em." 

The  Dictator  moved  forward  through  the 
gathering  ice  towards  Skull  Head  ;  and  the  three 
other  steamers,  whose  owners  had  chosen  to 
make  the  start  from  Long  Tom,  followed  slyly 
on  her  heels,  evidently  hoping  to  get  to  sea  ia 
her  wake,  for  she  was  larger  than  they.  When 
her  engines  were  stopped  off  the  Head,  it  lacked 
twelve  minutes  of  sailing  time.  An  unbroken 
field  of  ice  lay  beyond  the  harbour  entrance, 
momentarily  jammed  there.  Would  the  ship  be 
locked  in  ? 

"  Can't  we  run  for  it,  sir  ?  "  asked  the  mate. 
"  'Tis  but  seven  minutes  too  soon." 

"No,"  said  the  captain.  "We'll  lie  here  t' 
midnight  t'  the  second.  Then  we'll  ram  that 
floe,  if  we  have  t'.  Hear  me  ?  "  he  burst  out,  such 
was  the  tension  upon  patience.  "  We'll  ram  it ! 
We'll  ram  it !  " 

It  appeared  that  they  would  have  to.  Archie 
could  hear  the  ice  crunching  as  the  floe  pressed 
in  upon  the  jam.  Pans  were  lifted  out  of 
the  water,  and,  under  the  mighty  force  of  the 
mass  behind,  were  heaped  up  between  the  rocks 


236    The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

on  either  side  of  the  narrows.  The  barrier 
seemed  even  now  to  be  impassable  ;  and  it  had 
yet  seven  minutes  to  gather  strength.  If  it 
should  prove  too  great  to  be  broken,  the  fleet 
might  be  locked  in  for  a  week  ;  and  with  every 
hour  of  delay  the  size  of  the  prospective  catch 
would  dwindle.  The  captains  of  the  nearer  ves- 
sels were  madly  shouting  to  the  old  skipper  of 
the  Dictator  to  strike  before  it  was  too  late ;  but 
he  gave  them  no  heed  whatever.  He  stood  with 
his  watch  in  his  hand,  waiting  for  the  moment  of 
midnight 

"  We're  caught !  "  cried  the  mate. 

The  captain  said  nothing.  He  was  watching 
the  jam — hoping  that  it  would  break  of  its  own 
weight. 

"  Three  minutes,  sir,"  said  the  mate. 

The  captain  glanced  at  the  watch  in  his 
hand.  "  Two  an'  a  half,"  he  muttered,  a  mo- 
ment later. 

A  pause. 

"  Midnight,  sir  !  "  cried  the  mate. 

"  Go  ahead  !  " 

Archie  heard  the  tinkle  of  the  bell  in  the  en- 
gineer's room  below  :  then  the  answering  signal 
on  the  bridge.  The  crew  raised  a  cheer ;  the 


"  FULL  SPEED  AHEAD  !  "          237 

mate  pulled  the  whistle  rope ;  there  was  a  muffled 
hurrah  from  the  shore. 

"  Half  speed  !     Port  a  little  !  " 

The  steamer  gathered  headway.  She  was  now 
making  for  the  harbour  entrance  on  a  straight 
course. 

"  Full  speed  I " 

Then  the  Dictator  charged  the  barrier. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

In  Which  Archie  Armstrong  falls  in  with  Bill  6 
Burnt  Bay  and  Billy  Topsail  of  Ruddy  Cove 
and  Makes  a  Speech 

THERE  is  no  telling  what  would  have 
happened  had  the  Dictator  struck  the  jam 
of  ice  in  the  narrows  of  Long  Tom  Har- 
bour. Captain  Hand  was  not  the  man  to  lose  half 
a  voyage  because  there  was  a  risk  to  be  taken  : 
had  he  been  used  to  counting  the  risk,  he 
would  not  have  been  in  command  of  the  finest 
ship  in  Armstrong  and  Son's  fine  fleet.  Rather 
than  be  locked  in  the  harbour,  he  had  launched 
his  vessel  at  the  barrier,  quietly  confident  that 
she  would  acquit  herself  well.  But,  as  he  had 
foreseen,  the  jam  broke  of  its  own  weight  before 
the  steamer  struck.  Of  a  sudden,  it  cracked,  and 
gave  way  ;  the  key  blocks  had  broken.  It  then 
remained  only  to  breast  the  pack,  which  was  not 
at  all  an  impossible  undertaking  for  the  stout 
Dictator. 

With  her  rivals  following  close,  she  struck  the 
floe,  broke  a  way  through,  and  pushed  on,  with 

a  great  noise,  but  slowly,  surely  ;  and  she  was 

238 


BILL  O'  BURNT  BAY  239 

soon  in  the  open  sea.  The  course  was  then 
shaped  northeast,  for  it  appeared  that  open  water 
lay  in  that  direction.  The  floe  retarded  the  ship's 
progress,  but  could  not  stop  it ;  the  ice  pans 
crashed  against  her  prow  and  scraped  her  sides, 
but  she  was  staunch  enough  to  withstand  every 
shock  ;  and  so,  gaining  on  the  rest  of  the  fleet, 
she  crept  out  to  sea,  in  the  teeth  of  the  rising  gale. 

At  two  o' clock  in  the  morning,  Archie  Arm- 
strong was  still  on  the  bridge  with  the  captain 
and  mate.  The  lights  of  the  fleet  were  lost  in 
the  night  behind.  The  Dictator  had  laboured 
through  the  first  field  of  ice  into  open  water. 
The  sea  was  dotted  with  great,  white  "  pans," 
widely  scattered  ;  and,  as  the  captain  had  feared, 
there  were  signs  of  bergs  in  the  darkness  round- 
about. The  waves  were  rising,  spume  crested, 
on  every  hand  ;  at  intervals,  they  broke  over  the 
bows,  port  and  starboard,  with  frightful  violence. 
Gusts  of  wind  whirled  the  spray  to  the  bridge, 
where  it  soon  sheathed  men  and  superstructure 
in  ice. 

"  Send  a  lookout  aloft,  Mr.  Ackell,"  said  the 
captain,  after  he  had  long  and  anxiously  peered 
straight  ahead. 

The  thud  of  ice,  as  the  seas  hurled  it  against 


240    The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

the  ship's  prows,  the  hiss  and  crash  of  the  waves, 
the  screaming  of  the  gale,  drowned  the  captain's 
order. 

"Pass  the  word  for  Bill  o'  Burnt  Bay!"  he 
roared. 

A  short,  brawny  man,  of  middle  age,  who  had 
not  missed  a  voyage  to  the  ice  in  twenty  years, 
soon  appeared  in  response  to  the  call,  which  had 
gone  from  mouth  to  mouth  through  the  ship. 
Archie  was  inclined  to  smile  when  he  observed 
Bill's  unkempt,  sandy  moustache,  which  was 
curiously  given  an  upward  twist  at  one  side,  and 
a  downward  twist  at  the  other.  Nevertheless,  he 
was  strongly  attracted  to  him ;  for  he  looked  like 
a  man  who  could  be  trusted  to  the  limit  of  his 
courage  and  strength. 

"  Take  a  glass  t'  the  nest,  b'y,  an1  look  sharp 
for  bergs,"  the  captain  ordered.  "  Don't  stay  up 
there.  Come  back  an'  report  t'  me  here." 

The  man  went  off  with  a  brisk,  "  Ay,  ay,  sir  ! " 
It  was  his  duty  to  clamber  to  the  crow's-nest — a 
cask  lashed  to  the  topmast  just  below  the  mast- 
head— and  to  sweep  the  sea  for  signs  of  bergs. 

"  Tis  more  than  I  bargained  for,  Mr.  Ackell," 
the  captain  went  on,  to  the  mate,  in  an  anxious 
undertone,  which,  however,  Arch;e  managed  to 


BILL  O'  BURNT  BAY  241 

catch ;  and  it  may  be  added  that  the  lad's  heart 
jumped  into  his  throat,  and  had  a  hard  time  get- 
ting back  into  place  again. 

"  Dirty  weather,  sir  1 "  the  mate  agreed.  "  I'm 
thinkin'  we're  close  to  some  heavy  ice." 

"  Well,"  said  the  captain,  after  a  pause,  "  keep 
her  head  as  she  points  now.  I'll  have  a  look 
'tween  decks." 

Archie  was  tempted  to  ask  the  captain  "  if 
there  was  any  danger."  The  foolish  question 
was  fairly  on  the  tip  of  his  tongue  ;  but  his  better 
sense  came  to  his  rescue  in  time.  Danger  ?  Of 
course  there  was !  There  was  always  danger. 
He  had  surely  not  come  on  a  sealing  voyage  ex- 
pecting none  !  But  catastrophe  was  not  yet  in- 
evitable. At  any  rate,  it  was  the  captain's  duty 
to  sail  the  ship.  He  was  responsible  to  the 
owners,  and  to  the  families  of  the  crew ;  the  part  of 
the  passenger  was  but  bravely  to  meet  the  fortune 
that  came.  So,  completely  regaining  his  courage, 
Archie  followed  the  captain  below. 

'Tween  decks  the  stout  hearts  were  rollicking 
still  The  working  crew  had  duty  to  do,  every 
man  of  them  ;  but  the  two  hundred  hunters,  who 
had  been  taken  along  to  wield  gaff  and  club, 
were  sprawled  in  every  place,  singing,  laughing, 


242    The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

yarning,  scuffling,  for  all  the  world  like  a  pack 
of  boys  :  making  light  of  discomfort,  and  thinking 
not  at  all  of  danger,  for  the  elation  of  departure 
still  possessed  them.  Had  any  misgiving  still  re- 
mained with  Archie,  the  sight  of  this  jolly,  care- 
less crowd  of  hunters  would  have  quieted  it. 
They  were  not  alarmed.  Then,  why  should  he 
be  ?  Doubtless,  it  was  responsibility  that  made 
the  captain  anxious. 

In  the  improvised  cabin  aft,  Ebenezer  Bow- 
sprit, of  Exploits,  was  roaring  the  "  Luck  o'  the 
Northern  Light,"  a  famous  old  sealing  song, 
which,  no  doubt,  his  grandfather  had  sung  to 
shipmates  upon  similar  occasions  long  ago. 
Rough,  frank  faces,  broadly  smiling,  were  turned 
to  him  ;  and  when  it  came  time  for  the  chorus, 
willing  voices  and  mighty  lungs  swelled  it  to  a 
volume  that  put  the  very  gale  to  shame.  The 
ship  was  pitching  violently — with  a  nauseating 
roll  occasionally  thrown  in — and  the  cabin  was 
crowded  and  hot  and  filled  with  clouds  of  tobacco 
smoke ;  but  neither  pitch,  nor  roll,  nor  heat,  nor 
smoke,  could  interfere  with  the  jollity  of  the  oc- 
casion. 

"All  right  here,"  the  captain  growled,  grinning 
in  his  great  beard 


BILL  O'  BURNT  BAY  243 

"Speech,  Sir  Archie?"  shouted  one  of  the 
men. 

Before  Archie  could  escape — and  amid  great 
laughter  and  uproar  and  louder  calls  for  a  speech 
— he  was  caught  by  the  ann;  jerked  off  his  feet, 
and  hoisted  on  the  table,  where  he  bumped  his 
head,  and,  by  an  especially  violent  roll  of  the 
vessel,  was  almost  thrown  headlong  into  the 
arms  of  the  grinning  crowd  around  him. 

"  Speech,  speech  !  "  they  roared. 

Archie  would  have  declined  with  some  heat 
had  he  not  caught  sight  of  the  face  of  Tim  Tut- 
tle — a  tawny,  lean,  long  man,  apparently  as 
strong  as  a  wire  rope.  There  was  a  steely  twin- 
kle in  his  eye,  and  a  sneering,  utterly  contemptu- 
ous smile  upon  his  thin  lips.  Archie  did  not 
know  that  this  was  Turtle's  habitual  expression. 
He  felt  that  the  man  expected  a  rather  amusing 
failure  on  the  part  of  Sir  Archibald  Armstrong's 
son  ;  and  that  stimulated  him  to  take  the  situa- 
tion seriously.  Unconsciously  calling  his  good 
breeding  to  his  aid,  he  pulled  off  his  cap, 
smoothed  his  hair,  touched  his  cravat,  and  — 

"Ahem!"  he  began  ;  as  he  had  heard  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  colony  do  a  dozen  times,  and  as 
now,  to  his  surprise,  he  found  most  inspiring. 


244   The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"  Hear,  hear  I "  burst  rapturously  from  old 
Ebenezer  Bowsprit. 

Ebenezer  was  in  a  condition  of  high  delight 
and  expectation.  Admiration  shone  in  his  eyes, 
surprise  was  depicted  by  his  wide  opened  mouth, 
bewonderment  by  his  strained  attention.  The 
sight  of  his  face  was  too  much  for  Archie. 

"  Oh,  what  Tommy-rot ! "  he  laughed.  "  Here, 
let  me  go  !  I  can't  (hold  me  up,  or  I'll  fall)  make 
a  speech.  ("  Hear,  hear  !  "  from  the  awe-stricken 
Ebenezer.)  All  I  got  to  say  is  that  I'm  (please 
get  a  better  hold  on  my  legs,  or  I'll  be  pitched 
off)  mighty  glad  to  be  here.  I'm  having  the 
best  time  of  my  life,  and  I  expect  to  have  a  bet- 
ter one  when  we  strike  the  seals.  (Loud  and 
prolonged  cheering.)  I  hope " 

But,  in  the  excitement  following  his  last  re- 
mark, the  speaker's  support  was  withdrawn,  and 
a  pitch  of  the  ship  threw  him  off  the  table.  He 
was  caught,  set  on  his  feet,  and  clapped  on  the 
back.  Then  he  managed  to  escape  with  the 
captain,  followed  by  loud  cries  of  "  More ! 
More  ! "  to  which  he  felt  justified  in  paying  no 
attention. 

"  You're  your  father's  son,"  laughed  the  cap- 
tain, as  they  made  their  way  up  the  deck. 


HE    WAS    NEAR   THE   END   OF   THE   SIXTEENTH  VERSE. 


BILL  O'  BURNT  BAY  245 

"Sure,   your   father  never  in  his  life  let  slip  a 
chance  t'  make  a  speech." 

In  the  forecastle  they  had  a  lad  on  the  table 
under  the  lantern — a  tow-headed,  blue-eyed, 
muscular  boy,  of  Archie's  age,  or  less.  He  had 
on  goatskin  boots,  a  jacket  of  homespun,  and  a 
flaring  red  scarf.  The  men  were  quiet ;  for  the 
boy  was  piping,  in  a  clear,  quavering  treble,  the 
"  Song  o'  the  Anchor  an'  Chain,"  a  Ruddy  Cove 
saga,  which  goes  to  the  air  of  a  plaintive  West 
Country  ballad  of  the  seventeenth  century,  with 
the  refrain, 

"  Sure,  the  chain  'e  parted, 

An'  the  schooner  drove  ashoare, 
An'  the  wives  o'  the  'ands 
Never  saw  un  any  moare. 

No  moare  ! 
Never  saw  un  any  mo-o-o-are !  " 

He  was  near  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  verse, 
and  the  men  were  drawing  breath  for  the  chorus, 
when  the  captain  appeared  in  the  door,  wrath  in 
his  eyes. 

"  What's  this  ?  "  roared  he. 

There  was  no  answer  The  lad  turned  to  face 
the  captain,  in  part  deferentially,  in  part  humor- 
ously, altogether  fearlessly. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

Bitty  Topsail  is  Shipped  Upon  Conditions,  and 
the  Dictator,  in  a  Rising  Gale,  is  Caught  in 
a  Field  of  Drift  Ice,  with  a  Growler  to  Leeward 

"  \~\  THERE'D  you  come  aboard,  b'y?" 
^y  ^/     Captain  Hand  demanded. 

"  Long  Tom,  sir." 
"  Who  shipped  you  ?  " 
"  I  stowed  away  in  a  bunker,  sir." 
"  You're  from  Ruddy  Cove  ?  "  said  the  captain. 
"  Yes,  sir.     Me  name's  Billy,  an'  me  father's 
a  Labrador  fisherman.     Sure,  I've  sailed  t'  the 
French  Shore,  sir,  an'  I'm  a  handy  lad  t'  work, 


sir." 


"Billy  what?" 

"  Topsail,  sir." 

The  captain  raised  his  eyebrows ;  then  dropped 
them,  and  stared  at  the  boy.  He  had  been  be- 
fore the  mast  with  old  Tom  Topsail  on  a  South 
American  barque  in  years  long  gone. 

"  You'll  work  hard,  b'y,"  said  he,  severely,  for 
he  had  been  bothered  with  stowaways  for  thirty 

years,  "an'  I'll  ship  you  regular,  if  you  do  your 

246 


A  GROWLER  TO  LEEWARD        247 

duty.  If  you  don't,"  and  here  the  captain  frowned 
tremendously,  "I'll  have  you  thrashed  at  the  post 
at  Long  Tom,  an'  you'll  have  no  share  with  the 
crew  in  the  cargo." 

"  Ay,  sir,"  said  Billy,  gladly.  "  Sure,  I'll  stand 
by  it,  sir." 

When  the  captain  turned  his  back,  out  came 
the  belated  chorus,  with  young  Billy  Topsail 
leading : 

"  Sure,  the  chain  'e  parted, 

An'  the  schooner  drove  ashoare, 
An'  the  wives  o'  the  'ands 
Never  saw  un  any  raoare. 

No  moare ! 
Never  saw  un  any  mo-o-o-are  !  " 

"  If  he's  like  his  dad,"  the  captain  chuckled  to 
Archie,  as  they  mounted  to  the  deck,  "  his  name 
will  be  on  the  ship's  books  before  the  v'y'ge  is 
over,  sure  enough." 

It  appeared  from  the  bridge  that  the  gale  was 
venting  the  utmost  of  its  force.  The  wind  had 
veered  a  point  or  two  to  the  north,  and  was  driv- 
ing out  of  the  darkness  a  vast  field  of  broken  ice. 
This,  close  packed  and  grinding,  was  bearing 
down  swiftly.  It  threatened  to  block  the  ship's 


248    The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

course — if  not  to  surround  her,  take  hold  of  her, 
and  sweep  her  away.  In  the  northeast,  dead 
over  the  bows,  there  loomed  a  great  white  mass, 
a  berg,  grandly  towering,  with  its  peaks  hidden 
in  black,  scudding  clouds.  Beyond,  and  on  either 
side,  patches  of  white,  vanishing  and  reappearing, 
disclosed  the  whereabouts  of  other  bergs. 

"  I  was  thinkin'  about  slowin'  down,"  said  the 
mate,  when  the  captain  had  scanned  the  prospect 
ahead. 

With  that,  some  part  of  Archie's  alarm  re- 
turned. It  continued  with  him,  while  the  captain 
moved  the  lever  of  the  signal  box  until  the  in- 
dicator marked  half  speed,  while  the  ship  lost 
way,  and  the  engines  throbbed,  as  though  alive 
and  breathing  hard. 

"  Report,  sir  ! " 

This  was  Bill  o'  Burnt  Bay,  down  from  the 
crow's-nest,  with  his  beard  frozen  to  his  jacket 
and  icicles  hanging  from  his  shaggy  eyebrows. 

"Well?" 

"  They's  a  big  field  o'  ice  bearin'  down  with 
the  wind.  'Tis  heavy,  an'  comin'  fast,  an'  'tis 
stretchin'  as  far  as  I  can  see.  They's  five 
good-sized  bergs  ahead,  sir,  with  pan  ice  all 
about  them.  An' " 


A  GROWLER  TO  LEEWARD        249 

"  Growlers  ?  "  sharply. 

"  An'  they's  a  big  growler  off  the  port  bow. 
'Twill  soon  be  dead  t'  leeward,  if  we  keeps  this 
course." 

Bill  o'  Burnt  Bay  lumbered  down  the  ladder 
and  made  for  the  forecastle  to  thaw  out.  Mean- 
time, the  captain  devoted  himself  to  giving  the 
growler  a  wide  berth  ;  for  a  growler  is  a  berg 
which  trembles  on  the  verge  of  toppling  over, 
and  he  had  no  wish  to  be  caught  between  it  and 
the  advancing  floe.  He  had  once  lost  a  schooner 
that  way ;  the  adventure  was  one  of  his  most 
vivid  recollections. 

"We'll  have  t'  get  out  o'  this,  Mr.  Ackell," 
he  said,  "  or  we  may  get  badly  nipped  We'll 
tie  up  t'  the  first  steady  berg  we  come  to. 
Here,  b'y,"  sharply,  to  Archie,  "  you'll  not  go  t' 
bed  for  a  while.  Keep  near  me — but  keep  out 
o'  the  way." 

"Ay,  ay,  sir!" 

"Turn  out  all  hands!" 

The  cry  of  "  All  hands  on  deck  !  "  was  passed 
fore  and  aft.  It  ran  through  the  ship  like  an 
alarm.  The  men  trooped  from  below,  wonder- 
ing what  had  occasioned  it.  Once  on  deck,  a 
swift  glance  into  the  driving  night  apprised  these 


250    The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

old  sealers  of  the  situation.  They  placed  the  ice 
hooks  and  tackle  in  handy  places  ;  for  the  work 
in  hand  was  plain  enough. 

The  ship  was  swinging  wide  of  the  growler, 
against  which  the  wind  beat  with  mighty  force. 
A  vast  surface  was  exposed  to  the  gale ;  and 
upon  every  square  foot  a  varying  pressure  was 
exerted.  As  the  vessel  drew  nearer,  Archie  could 
see  the  iceberg  yield  and  sway.  It  was  evident 
that  its  submerged  parts  had  been  melted  and 
worn  until  the  equilibrium  of  the  whole  was  nearly 
overset.  A  sudden,  furious  gust  might  turn  the 
scale  ;  and  in  that  event  a  near-by  vessel  would 
surely  be  overwhelmed. 

Captain  Hand  kept  a  watchful  eye  on  the  ice 
pack,  which  had  now  come  within  a  hundred 
fathoms,  and  was  hurrying  upon  the  advancing 
ship.  The  vessel  was  between  the  floe  and  the 
growler :  a  situation  not  to  be  escaped,  as  the 
captain  had  foreseen.  The  danger  was  clear :  if 
the  rush  of  the  floe  should  be  too  great  for  the 
steamer  to  withstand,  she  would  be  swept,  broad- 
side on,  against  the  berg,  which,  being  of  greater 
weight  and  depth,  moved  sluggishly,  Stout  as 
she  was,  she  could  not  survive  the  collision. 

The  captain  turned  her  bow  to  the  pack  ;  then 


A  GROWLER  TO  LEEWARD        251 

he  signalled  full  speed  ahead.  There  was  a  mo- 
ment of  waiting. 

"  Grab  the  rail,  b'y,"  said  the  captain. 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir  ! " 

The  floe  divided  before  the  ship ;  the  shock 
was  hardly  perceptible.  For  a  moment,  where, 
at  the  edge,  the  ice  was  loose,  she  maintained  her 
speed.  But  the  floe  thickened.  The  fragments 
were  packed  tight.  It  was  as  though  the  face  of 
the  sea  were  covered  with  a  solid  sheet  of  ice, 
lying  ahead  as  far  as  sight  carried  into  the  night. 
The  ship  laboured.  Her  speed  diminished, 
gradually,  but  perceptibly — vividly  so !  Her 
progress  was  soon  at  the  rate  of  half  speed.  In 
a  moment  it  was  even  slower  than  that.  Would 
it  stop  altogether  ? 

Archie  was  on  the  port  side  of  the  bridge. 
The  captain  walked  over  to  him  and  slapped 
him  heartily  on  the  back. 

"  Well,  b'y,"  he  cried,  "  how  do  you  like  the 
sealin'  v'y'ge  ?  " 

That  was  a  clever  thought  of  the  captain  ! 
Here  was  a  man  in  desperate  case  who  could 
await  the  issue  in  light  patience.  The  boy  took 
heart  at  the  thought  of  it ;  and  he  needed  that 
encouragement. 


252    The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"I  knew  what  it  was  when  I  started,"  he  re- 
plied, with  a  gulp. 

"  Will  she  make  it,  think  you  ?  " 

Another  clever  ruse  of  this  great  heart !  He 
wanted  the  boy  to  have  a  part  in  the  action. 
Archie  felt  the  blood  stirring  in  his  veins  once 
again. 

"She's  pretty  near  steady,  sir,  I  think,"  he  re- 
plied, after  a  pause. 

The  two  leaned  over  the  rail  and  looked  in 
cently  at  the  ice  sweeping  past. 

"  Are  we  losing,  sir  ?  "  asked  the  boy. 

"  I  think  we're  holdin'  our  own,"  said  the  cap- 
tain, elatedly. 

The  boy  turned  to  the  great  growler,  now 
vague  of  outline  in  the  dark.  The  ice  floe  had 
swept  over  the  limit  of  vision.  He  wondered  if 
it  had  struck  the  base  of  the  berg.  Then  all  at 
once  the  heap  of  cloudy  white  swayed  forth  and 
back  before  his  eyes.  For  a  moment  it  was  like 
a  gigantic  curtain  waving  in  the  wind,,  It  van- 
ished of  a  sudden.  A  mountain  of  broken  water 
shot  up  in  its  place — as  high  as  its  topmost  pinna- 
cle had  been  ;  and,  following  close  upon  its  fall, 
another  berg,  with  a  worn  outline,  reared  itself 
dripping  streams  of  water. 


A  GROWLER  TO  LEEWARD      253 

Thus  far  there  had  been  no  sound;  but  the 
sound  beat  its  way  against  the  wind,  at  last,  and 
it  was  a  thunderous  noise — "  like  the  growlin'  of 
a  million  dogs,"  the  captain  said  afterwards.  The 
growler  had  capsized. 

"  Look  !  "  the  boy  cried,  overcome. 

"Turned  turtle,  ain't  she?"  remarked  the 
skipper,  calmly. 

"  The  pack  might  have  carried  us  near  it ! " 

"  Oh,"  said  the  captain,  lightly,  "  but  it  didn't. 
She's  a  good  ship,  the  Dictator.  What's  more," 
he  added,  "  she's  makin'  her  way  right  through 
the  pack." 

Another  berg  had  taken  form  over  the  port 
quarter.  The  captain  shaped  a  course  for  it,  eye- 
ing it  carefully  as  he  drew  near.  It  was  low — 
not  higher  than  the  ship's  spars — and  broad, 
with  the  impression  of  stability  strong  upon  it. 

"See  that  berg,  b'y?"  said  the  captain. 
"Well,"  decisively,  "we'll  lie  in  the  lee  o'  that 
in  half  an  hour.  You  see,  b'y,"  he  went  on, 
"  the  wind  makes  small  bother  for  a  solid  berg. 
It  whips  the  pan  ice  along,  easy  enough,  but  the 
bergs  float  their  own  way,  quiet  as  you  please. 
In  the  lee  of  every  big  fellow  like  that,  there's 


254  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 
open     water.      We'll    lie    there,    tied     up,    till 


morninV 


In  half  an  hour,  the  ship  broke  from  the  ice 
into  the  lee  of  the  berg.  The  floe  raced  past 
under  the  force  of  the  gale,  which  left  the  lee  air 
and  water  untouched  by  its  violence.  Skillful 
seamanship  brought  the  vessel  broadside  to  the 
ice.  A  wild  commotion  ensued :  orders  roared 
from  the  bridge,  signal  bells,  the  shouts  of  the 
line  men,  the  hiss  of  steam,  and  the  churning  of 
the  screw.  Archie  saw  young  Billy  Topsail 
scramble  to  the  ice  like  a  cat,  with  the  first  line 
in  his  hand :  then  Bill  o'  Burnt  Bay  and  half  a 
dozen  others,  with  axes  and  hooks. 

In  twenty  minutes  the  engines  were  at  rest,  the 
ship  was  lying  like  a  log  in  a  mill  pond,  the 
watch  paced  the  deck  in  solitude,  and  Archibald 
Armstrong  was  asleep  in  his  berth  in  the  cap- 
tain's cabin — dreaming  that  the  mate  was  wrong 
and  the  captain  right :  that  the  gale  had  abated 
in  the  night,  and  the  morning  had  broken  sunny. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

In  Which  Archie  Armstrong  and  Billy  Topsail 
Have  an  Exciting  Encounter  with  a  Big  Dog 
Hood,  and,  at  the  Sound  of  Alarm,  Leave  the 
Issue  in  Doubt,  While  the  Ice  Goes  Abroad  and 
the  Enemy  Goes  Swimming 

HAIR  seals,  which  come  out  of  the  north 
with  the  ice  in  the  early  spring,  and  drift 
in  great  herds  past  the  rugged  Newfound- 
land coast,  returning  in  April,  have  no  close,  soft 
fur  next  the  skin,  such  as  the  South  Sea  and  Alas- 
kan seals  have.  Hence,  they  are  valued  only  for 
their  blubber,  which  is  ground  and  steamed  into 
oil,  and  for  their  skin,  which  is  turned  into  leather. 
They  are  of  two  kinds,  the  harp  which  is  doubt- 
less indigenous  to  the  great  inland  sea  and  the 
waters  above,  and  the  hood,  which  inhabits  the 
harsher  regions  of  the  farther  north  and  east. 
The  harp  is  timid,  gentle,  gregarious,  and  takes 
in  packs  to  the  flat,  newly  frozen,  landward 
pans  ;  the  hood  is  fierce,  quarrelsome  and  soli- 
tary, grimly  riding  the  rough  glacier  ice  at  the 
edge  of  the  open  sea. 

255 


256  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

Thus  the  Dictator  lay  through  the  night  with 
hood  ice  all  about  the  sheltering  berg. 

"  Hi,  b'y  !  Get  yarry  (wide  awake)  ! "  cried 
the  captain,  in  the  morning. 

Archie  Armstrong  was  "  yarry  "  on  the  instant, 
and  he  rolled  out  of  his  berth  in  hot  haste,  not  at 
all  sure  that  it  was  not  time  to  leave  a  sinking 
ship  in  the  boats.  The  hairy  face  of  the  old 
sealer,  a  broad,  kindly  grin  upon  it,  peered  at 
him  from  the  door. 

"  Morning,  skipper  ! " 

"  Mornin'  t'  you,  sir.  An1  a  fine  mornin*  'tis," 
said  the  captain.  "  Sure  a  finer  I  never  saw." 

"What's  become  of  the  gale  ?  " 

"  The  gale's  miles  t'  the  sou' east — an'  out  o* 
sight  o'  these  latitudes.  We're  packed  in  the  lee 
o'  the  berg,  an'  fast  till  the  wind  changes.  There's 
a  family  o'  hoods,  quarter  mile  t'  starboard.  Up, 
now,  b'y !  an'  you'll  go  after  them  with  a  crew 
after  breakfast." 

When  Archie  reached  the  deck,  the  air  was 
limpid,  frosty  and  still.  There  was  a  blue  sky 
overhead,  stretching  from  horizon  to  horizon.  A 
waste  of  ice  lay  all  about — rough,  close-packed, 
glistening  in  the  sun»  With  the  falling  away  of 
the  wind  the  floe  had  lost  its  headway,  and  had 


A  FIGHT  WITH  A  DOG  HOOD     257 

crept  softly  in  upon  the  open  water.  The  ship 
was  held  in  the  grip  of  the  pack,  and  must  per- 
force remain  for  a  time  in  the  shadow  of  the  berg, 
where  shelter  from  the  gale  of  the  night  had  been 
sought.  Save  for  the  watch  of  that  hour,  the 
men  were  below,  at  breakfast.  The  "  great 
white  silence  "  possessed  the  sea.  For  the  boy, 
this  silence,  vast  and  heavy,  and  the  immeasura- 
ble area  of  broken  ice,  with  its  pent-up,  treach- 
erous might,  was  as  awe-impelling  as  the  gale 
and  the  night. 

"  What  d'ye  think,  Mr.  Ackell  ?  "  said  the  cap- 
tain to  the  mate,  when  the  two  came  up. 

Ackell  looked  to  the  northeast.  "  We'll  have 
wind  by  noon,"  he  replied. 

"'Tis  what  I  think,"  the  captain  agreed. 
"  Archie,  b'y,  you'll  have  a  couple  of  hours,  afore 
the  ice  goes  abroad.  Bowsprit  '11  take  the  crew, 
an'  you'll  do  what  he  tells  you." 

Ebenezer  Bowsprit,  with  half  a  dozen  cronies 
of  his  own  choosing,  led  the  way  over  the  side,  in 
high  good  humour.  In  the  group  on  the  deck 
stood  Billy  Topsail.  He  eyed  Archie  with  frank 
envy  as  the  lad  prepared  to  descend  to  the  ice  ; 
for  to  participate  in  the  first  hunt,  generally  re- 
garded as  pure  sport,  was  a  thing  greatly  to  be 


258  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

desired.  He  was  perceived  by  Archie,  who  was 
at  once  taken  with  a  wish  for  company  of  his 
own  age. 

"  Captain,"  the  boy  whispered,  "  let  the  other 
kid  come  along,  won't  you  ?  " 

*  Topsail,"  the  captain  ordered,  "  get  a  gaff, 
an'  cut  along  with  the  rest." 

In  five  minutes,  the  boys  had  broken  the  ice  of 
diffidence,  and  were  chatting  like  sociable  mag- 
pies, as  they  crawled,  jumped,  climbed,  over  the 
uneven  pack.  They  were  Newfoundlanders  both : 
the  same  in  strength,  feeling,  spirit,  and,,  indeed, 
experience.  The  one  was  of  the  remote  out-port^ 
where  children  are  reared  to  toil  and  peril, 
which,  with  hunger,  is  their  heritage,  and  must 
ever  be ;  the  other  was  of  the  city,  son  of  the 
well-to-do,  who,  following  sport  for  sport's  sake, 
had  made  the  same  ventures  and  become  used  to 
the  same  toil  and  peril. 

"  'Tis  barb'rous  hard  walkin',"  said  Billy. 

"  Sure,"  replied  the  other.  "  And  they're  get- 
ting away  ahead  of  us." 

Ebenezer  Bowsprit  and  his  fellows,  with  the 
lust  of  the  chase  strong  upon  them,  were  mak- 
ing great  strides  towards  three  black  objects 
some  hundred  yards  away.  It  was  a  race ;  for  it 


A  FIGHT  WITH  A  DOG  HOOD     259 

is  a  tradition  that  he  who  strikes  the  first  blow  of 
the  voyage  will  have  "  luck  "  the  season  through. 
The  boys  were  hopelessly  behind,  and  they 
stopped  to  look  about  them.  It  was  then  that 
Billy  Topsail  spied  a  patch  of  open  water,  to  the 
left,  half  hidden  by  the  surrounding  ice.  It  was 
a  triangular  hole  in  the  floe,  formed  by  three 
heavy  blocks,  which  had  withstood  the  pressure 
of  the  pack. 

"  Look ! "  he  cried. 

A  head,  small  and  alert,  raised  upon  a  thick, 
supple  neck,  appeared.  A  moment  later,  a 
second  head  popped  out  of  the  waten  They 
were  hoods.  The  young  one,  the  pup,  must  lie 
near.  The  boys  stood  stock  still  until  the  seals 
had  clambered  to  the  pack.  Then  they  advanced 
swiftly.  Billy  Topsail  was  armed  with  a  gaff, 
which  is  a  pole  shod  with  iron  at  one  end  and 
having  a  hook  at  the  other  ;  and  Archie  was  pro- 
vided with  a  sealing  club.  They  came  upon  the 
dog  hood  before  he  could  escape  to  the  water. 
Perceiving  this,  and  only  on  this  account,  he 
turned,  snarling,  to  give  fight. 

"I'll  take  him !"  cried  Billy. 

The  hood  was  as  big  as  an  ox — a  massive, 
flabby,  vicious  beast.  He  was  furiously  aroused, 


260  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

and  he  would  now  fight  to  the  death,  with  no 
thought  of  retreat.  He  raised  himself  on  his  flip- 
pers and  reared  his  head  to  the  length  of  his  long 
neck,  as  the  boy,  stepping  cautiously,  gaff  poised, 
drew  near. 

"  Get  behind  him,"  Billy  shouted  to  Archie. 

Billy  advanced  fearlessly,  steadily,  never  for  a 
moment  taking  his  eyes  from  the  hood's  head. 
Upon  that  head,  from  the  nose  to  the  back  of  the 
neck,  the  tough,  bladder-like  "  hood  "  was  now 
inflated.  It  was  a  perfect  protection ;  the  boy 
might  strike  blow  after  blow  without  effect.  The 
stroke  must  be  thrust  at  the  throat ;  and  it  must 
be  a  stroke  swiftly,  cunningly,  strongly  delivered. 
A  furious  hood,  excited  past  fear,  is  a  match 
for  three  men.  The  odds  were  against  the 
lad.  He  had  been  carried  away  by  his  own 
daring. 

But  Billy  made  the  thrust,  and  the  seal  re- 
ceived the  point  of  the  gaff  on  his  hood,  as  upon 
a  shield :  then  advanced  on  his  flippers,  by  jerky 
jumps,  snapping  viciously.  Archie  cried  out. 
But  Billy  had  skipped  out  of  harm's  way,  and 
had  faced  about,  laughing.  He  returned  to  the 
attack,  undismayed,  though  the  seal  reared  to 
meet  him,  with  bared  teeth. 


-*• 


A  FIGHT  WITH  A  DOG  HOOD     261 

"  Strike ! "  screamed  Archie. 

Teeth  and  flippers  were  to  be  feared,  and  Billy 
had  drawn  nearly  within  reach  of  both.  He 
paused,  waiting  his  opportunity.  Archie  could 
not  contain  his  excitement. 

"Strike ! "  he  cried  again. 

Billy  struck ;  but  the  blow  had  no  force,  for  he 
slipped,  overreached,  lost  his  footing,  and  fell 
sprawling,  almost  within  reach  of  his  adversary's 
teeth.  The  seal  snarled  and  drew  back,  startled. 
Then  he  advanced  upon  the  boy,  who  had  had 
no  time  to  recover,  much  less  to  scramble  out  of 
his  desperate  situation. 

It  was  for  Archie  to  act.  He  leaped  forward 
from  his  position  behind  the  seal,  struck  the 
animal  with  full  force  upon  the  tail,  and  darted 
out  of  reach.  The  hood  snorted,  and  turned  in 
a  rage  to  face  his  new  assailant.  Billy  leaped  to 
his  feet,  gaff  in  hand,  and  faced  about,  panting, 
but  ready.  He  was  preparing  to  attack  again, 
when  — 

"What's  that?"  Archie  cried  in  alarm. 

It  was  the  boom  of  the  ship's  gun,  followed  by 
an  ominous,  hollow  crackling,  which  ran  into  the 
distance  like  a  long  peal  of  thunder.  The  floe 
seemed  to  be  turning. 


262  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"  'Tis  goin'  abroad  !  "  Billy  shouted.  "  Quick, 
b'y  I  T  the  ship ! " 

The  boys  had  been  out  of  sight  of  the  ship, 
hidden  by  a  shoulder  of  the  berg.  They  had  not 
seen  the  flag  of  recall,  which  had  been  flying  for 
ten  minutes.  Again  they  heard  the  report  of  the 
gun ;  and  they  saw  Ebenezer  Bowsprit  and  his 
men  making  shipwards  with  all  speed.  Billy 
was  fully  aware  of  the  danger.  With  another 
warning  cry  to  Archie,  he  started  off  on  a  run, 
turning  from  time  to  time  to  make  sure  that  his 
companion  was  following. 

The  ice  was  nauseatingly  unstable,  grinding 
and  shifting  ;  but  no  open  water  had  as  yet  ap- 
peared, though,  at  any  moment,  a  lane  might 
open  up  and  cut  off  the  retreat.  The  floe  was 
feeling  the  force  of  a  wind  in  the  north,  and  was 
stirring  itself  from  edge  to  edge.  It  would  soon 
be  shaken  into  its  separate  parts.  But  with 
Billy  Topsail  leading,  the  boys  ran  steadily  over 
the  heaving  foothold,  and  in  good  time  came  to 
the  ship,  which  the  rest  of  the  hunting  party  had 
already  boarded. 

Billy  Topsail  was  laughing. 

"  I  don't  feel  that  way,"  said  Archie,  "  we 
were  in  a  good  deal  of  danger. J? 


A  FIGHT  WITH  A  DOG  HOOD    263 

Billy  laughed  louder. 

"Well,  we  were,  weren't  we?"  Archie  de- 
manded. 

"  Maybe,"  said  Billy ;  "  but  you'll  get  used  t' 
that!" 

They  were  not  a  moment  too  soon,  however ; 
for  the  pack  very  quickly  fell  apart — thus  open- 
ing a  way  for  the  escape  of  the  Dictator.  And 
meantime,  the  gallant  old  dog  hood  had  followed 
the  retreating  figures  with  his  eyes  :  after  which, 
well  satisfied  with  himself,  he  slipped  into  the 
water  and  went  fishing. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

The  Dictator  Charges  an  Ice  Pan  and  Loses  a 

Main  Topmast 


loose!"    was  the  order  from  the 
bridge. 

The  men  scrambled  to  the  berg  and 
released  the  lines  and  ice-hooks.  The  pack  was 
still  loosening  under  the  rising  breeze.  To  the 
east,  separating  the  sky  from  the  ice,  lay  a  long 
black  streak  —  the  water  of  the  open  sea  ;  a  clear 
way  to  the  broad,  white  fields.  Once  free  of  the 
floe,  the  ship  would  speed  northward  to  the  Yellow 
Islands  and  Cape  William  coasts.  In  a  day  and 
a  night,  the  weather  continuing  propitious,  it 
would  be,  "Ho  !  for  the  ice.  Ho  !  for  the  seals." 

A  lane  of  water  opened  up.  "  Go  ahead,"  was 
the  signal  from  the  master  on  the  bridge,  and  the 
ship  moved  forward,  with  her  nose  turned  to  the 
sea. 

"  Ha,  Mr.  Ackell  !  "  exclaimed  the  captain,  rub- 
bing his  horny  hands.  "  Looks  t'  be  a  fine  time, 
man.  We'll  make  the  Yellow  Islands  at  dawn 
t'-morrow,  if  all  goes  well." 

264 


CHARGING  ICE  265 

When  the  Dictator  had  followed  the  lane  to 
within  one  hundred  yards  of  free  water,  the  ad- 
vance was  blocked  by  a  great  pan  of  ice,  tight 
jammed  in  the  pack  on  either  side.  So  fast  and 
vagrantly  was  the  floe  shifting  its  formation  that 
what  had  been  a  clear  path  was  now  crossed  by 
a  mighty  barrier.  Here  was  no  slob  ice  to  be 
forged  through  at  full  steam,  but  a  solid  mass, 
like  a  bar  of  iron,  lying  across  the  path. 

The  ship  was  taken  to  the  edge  of  the  obstruc- 
tion, and  the  captain  and  mate  went  forward  to 
the  bow  to  gauge  the  strength  of  it.  When  they 
came  back  to  the  bridge,  the  former  had  his  teeth 
set. 

"It's  stiff  work  for  the  old  ship,"  said  the 
mate. 

The  captain  growled  as  he  pulled  the  signal 
lever  for  full  speed  astern. 

"  Take  half  a  day  to  cut  a  way  through,"  he 
said.  "We'll  ram  it.  Here,  b'y,"  to  Archie, 
"  get  off  the  bridge.  You're  in  the  way." 

Archie  joined  Billy  Topsail  on  the  forward 
deck.  Neither  had  yet  experienced  a  charge  on 
a  pan  of  ice  ;  but  both  had  listened,  open  eyed, 
to  the  sealing  tales  of  daring  that  had  brought 
disaster. 


266  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

"  I  feel  queer,"  Archie  remarked. 

"  Cap'n  Hand,"  said  Billy,  as  though  trying  to 
revive  his  faith  in  the  old  skipper,  "  he's  a  clever 
one.  'Tis  all  right." 

"  Make  fast  below,"  the  captain  shouted  over 
the  bridge  rail. 

The  word  was  passed  :"n  a  lively  fashion. 
Tackle,  boats,  and  all  things  loose,  were  lashed 
in  their  places,  as  if  for  a  great  gale. 

"  Stop !  "  was  the  next  signal.  Then  :  "  Full 
speed  ahead ! " 

The  blow  had  been  launched !  A  moment 
later,  the  Dictator  was  ploughing  forward,  charg- 
ing the  pan,  which  she  must  strike  like  a  batter- 
ing ram,  and  shiver  to  pieces.  She  was  of  solid 
oak,  this  good  ship,  and  builded  for  such  attacks ; 
steel  plates  would  buckle  and  spring  under  such 
shocks  as  she  had  many  times  triumphantly  sus- 
tained. The  men  were  silent  while  they  awaited 
the  event.  There  was  not  a  sound  save  the  hiss 
of  the  water  at  the  ship's  prows,  and  the  chug -chug 
of  the  engines. 

Archie  caught  his  breath.  His  eyes  were  fixed 
on  the  fast  vanishing  space  of  water.  The  thrill 
of  the  adventure  was  manifest  in  Billy  Topsail's 
sharp,  quick  breathing,  and  in  his  blue  eyes, 


CHARGING  ICE  267 

which  were  as  though  about  to  pop  out  of  their 
sockets. 

"Stop!" 

The  engines  abruptly  ceased  their  labour. 
Only  a  fathom  or  two  of  water  lay  ahead.  The 
ship  was  about  to  strike.  There  was  a  long 
drawn  instant  of  suspense.  Then  came  the 
blow  I 

It  was  a  fearful  shock.  The  vessel  quivered, 
crushed  her  way  on  for  a  space,  and  stopped  dead, 
quivering  still.  A  groan  ran  over  her,  from  stem 
to  stern,  as  though  she  had  been  racked  in  every 
part.  The  main  topmast  snapped  and  fell  for- 
ward on  the  rigging  with  a  crash. 

A  volley  of  cracks  sounded  from  the  ice,  like 
the  discharge  of  a  thousand  rifles,  slowly  subsid- 
ing. Dead  silence  fell  and  continued  for  a  mo- 
ment. Then  the  screw  churned  the  water,  and 
the  ship  backed  off,  sound,  but  beaten;  for  the 
pan  of  ice  lay,  unbroken  and  unchanged,  in  its 
place,  with  but  a  jagged  bruise,  where  the  blow 
had  been  struck. 

"Aloft,  there,  some  o'  you,  an'  cut  away  that 
spar  I  "  the  captain  shouted.  "  Bill,  get  below, 
an1  see  if  she's  tight.  Here,  you,  Dickson,  call 
the  watch  t'  make  sail.  Mr.  Girth,"  to  the 


268  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

second  mate,  "  take  a  crew  t'  the  ice.  Blast  that 
pan  in  three  places.  Lively,  now,  every  man  o' 
you  ! " 

Roaring  subordinates,  answering  "Ay,  ay, 
sirs ! "  rattling  blocks  and  chains,  the  fall  of 
hurried  feet,  cries  of  warning  and  encouragement, 
the  engine's  gasps  :  these  sounds  confounded  the 
confusion,  and  continued  it,  while  the  ship,  snort- 
ing like  a  frightened  horse,  was  backed  to  her  first 
positioa 

"  He'll  try  it  again/'  Archie  gleefully  observed 
to  Billy. 

The  captain  was  pacing  the  bridge.  Try  it 
again  ?  He  was  in  a  fever  of  impatience  to  be  at 
it !  It  was  as  though  the  pan  of  ice  were  a  foe 
needing  only  another  and  a  heavier  blow  to  be 
beaten  down. 

"  Sure,"  said  Billy,  after  a  glance  to  the  bridge, 
"  he'll  hit  that  pan  till  he  smashes  it,  if  it  takes  till 
Tibb'sEve!" 

"Tibb'sEve?" 

"  Sure,  b'y.  Does  you  not  know  what  that  is  ? 
Tis  till  the  end  o'  the  world." 

The  ship  was  again  to  be  launched  against  the 
pan.  The  second  mate  took  the  blasting  crew  to 
the  ice  in  the  quarter  boat ;  and  he  lost  no  time 


CHARGING  ICE  269 

about  it,  as  the  captain  made  sure.  Up  aloft  went 
other  hands  to  cut  away  the  broken  spar  and 
loose  the  canvas.  Work  was  carried  on  under 
the  spur  of  the  captain's  harshened  voice  ;  for  the 
captain  was  in  a  passion  to  prove  the  quality  of 
his  ship. 

The  ice  picks  were  plied  as  fast  as  arms  could 
swing  them.  Soon  the  mines  were  laid  and  fired. 
And  when  the  dust  of  ice  had  fallen,  and  the 
noise  of  the  explosion  had  gone  rumbling  into 
the  distance,  three  gaping  holes  marked  the  pan 
at  regular  intervals  from  edge  to  edge. 

"  She's  all  tight  below,  sir,"  was  the  carpenter's 
report. 

"  Now,  Mr.  Ackell,"  said  the  captain,  grimly, 
"  in  ten  minutes  we'll  be  free  o'  the  ice,  or " 

They  made  all  sail.  After  a  quiet  word  or  two 
of  command,  forth  the  ship  shot,  heeling  to  the 
breeze,  wind  now  allied  with  steam.  Her  course 
was  laid  straight  for  the  jagged  bruise  in  the  pan. 
There  was  no  stopping  her  now.  The  ice  was 
cracked  and  shivered  into  a  thousand  pieces. 
The  ship  forged  on,  grinding  the  cakes  to  frag- 
ments, heaping  them  up,  riding  them  down.  She 
quivered  when  she  struck,  and  strained  and 
creaked  as  she  crushed  her  way  forward,  but  she 


270  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

crept  on,  invincible,  adding  inch  to  inch,  foot  to 
foot,  until  she  swept  out  into  the  unclogged  water. 

Then  she  shook  the  ice  from  her  screw,  and  ran 
grandly  into  the  swelling  sea. 

"  Hurrah  ! "  the  stout  hearts  roared. 

"  Hem — hem  !  Mr.  Ackell,"  said  the  captain, 
with  some  emotion,  "'tis  a  great  ship ! " 

It  occurred  to  Archie  that  night,  while  he  sat 
munching  hard  biscuit  with  the  captain  before 
turning  in,  to  ask  a  few  questions  about  Tim 
Tuttle.  What  was  the  matter  with  the  man? 
Why  did  he  go  about  with  a  sneer  or  a  frown 
forever  on  his  face  ?  Why  was  he  not  like  all 
the  rest  of  the  crew  ?  Why  did  the  crew  seem  to 
expect  him  to  "do"  something?  Why  did  the 
captain  flush  and  bristle  when  Tuttle  came 
near? 

"  Oh,"  the  captain  replied,  with  a  laugh,  "  Tuttle 
had  a  fallin'  out  with  me  when  we  was  young. 
I  think,"  he  added,  gravely,  "  that  he  wronged 
me.  But  that's  neither  here  nor  there.  I  forgave 
Mm.  The  point  is — an'  I've  often  run  across 
the  same  thing  in  my  life — that  he  won't  forgive 
me  for  forgivin'  him.  That's  odd,  isn't  it  ?  But 
it's  true.  An'  he's  aboard  here  t'  make  trouble  ; 


CHARGING  ICE  271 

an'  the  men  know  that  that's  just  what  he  came 
for." 

"  But  what  did  you  ship  him  for,  captain,  if 
you  knew  that  ?  " 

The  captain  paused.  "  Well,"  he  said,  "  be- 
cause I'm  only  a  man,  I  s'pose.  I  couldn't  help 
knockin'  the  chip  off  his  shoulder." 

"  Do  you  think  he  can  make  trouble  ?  " 

"  I'd  like  t'  see  him  try  1 "  the  captain  burst 
out,  wrathfully. 

Tuttle's  opportunity  occurred  the  next  day. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

{n  Which  Seals  are  Sighted  and  Archie  Arm- 
strong has  a  Narrow  Chance  in  the  Crowds- 
Nest. 

AT  peep  o'  dawn  the  Dictator  made  the 
Groais  Island  sealing  grounds.  The  day 
broke  late  and  dull.  The  sky  was  a  dead 
gray,  hanging  heavily  over  a  dark,  fretful  sea ; 
and  there  was  a  threat  of  wind  and  snow  in  the 
air. 

"  Ice,  sir !  "  said  the  mate,  poking  his  head  into 
the  captain's  cabin,  his  ceremony  lost  in  his  ela- 
tion. 

"  Take  her  Alongside,"  cried  the  captain,  jump- 
ing out  of  his  berth.  "  What's  it  like  ?  " 

"  Looks  like  a  big  field  o'  seal  ice,  sir." 

"Hear  that,  b'y?"  the  captain  shouted  to 
Archie,  who  was  sitting  up  in  his  berth,  still  rub- 
bing his  eyes.  "  A  field  o'  ice  !  There'll  be  a 
hunt  t'-day.  Mr.  Ackell,  tell  the  cook  t'  send  the 
breakfast  up  here.  What's  the  weather  ?  " 

"  Promisin'  thick,  sir." 

When  the  captain  and  the  boy  went  on  deck, 
272 


A  CHANCE  IN  THE  CROW'S  NEST  273 

the  ice  was  in  plain  sight — many  vast  fields,  ris- 
ing over  the  horizon  continually,  so  that  there 
seemed  to  be  no  end  to  it.  From  the  crow's-nest 
it  had  been  reported  to  the  mate,  who  reported 
to  the  captain,  that  the  spars  of  a  three-masted 
ship  were  visible,  and  that  the  vessel  was  appar- 
ently lying  near  the  ice.  That  was  considered 
bad  news — and  worse  news  yet,  when  it  was  re- 
ported from  the  crow's-nest  that  she  was  flying 
the  house-flag  of  Alexander  Bryan  &  Company, 
the  only  considerable  rival  of  the  firm  of  Arm- 
strong and  Son. 

"  Oh,  well,"  said  the  captain,  making  the  best 
of  it  in  a  generous  way,  "  there'll  be  25,000  seals 
in  that  pack,  an'  out  o'  that  we  ought  t'  bag 
enough  t'  pay  both  of  us  for  the  day's  work." 

Archie  caught  sight  of  Billy  Topsail,  who  was 
standing  on  the  forward  deck,  gazing  wistfully 
at  him ;  so  he  went  forward,  and  the  two  found 
much  to  say  to  each  other,  while  the  ship  made 
for  the  ice  under  full  steam.  They  fought  the 
fight  with  the  dog  hood  over  again  ;  and  when 
Billy  had  acknowledged  a  debt  to  Archie's  quick 
thought,  and  Archie  had  repudiated  it  with  some 
heat,  they  agreed  that  the  old  seal  had  been  a 
mighty  fellow,  and  a  game  one,  deserving  his  es- 


274  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

cape  from  continued  attack.  Then  they  aban- 
doned the  subject. 

"Pretty  hard  work  on  the  ice,"  Archie  ob- 
served, sagely. 

"  Sure  1 "  Billy  exclaimed ;  for  that  had  been 
clear  to  him  all  his  life.  "  'Tis  fearful  dangerous, 
too.  When  my  father  was  young,  he  was  to  the 
ice  in  a  schooner,  an'  they  got  caught  with  the  fleet 
in  raftin'  ice  offshore,  up  Englee  way.  He  saw 
six  schooners  nipped  ;  an'  they  were  all  crushed 
like  an  egg,  an'  went  down  when  the  ice  went 
abroad.  His  was  the  only  one  o'  all  the  fleet 
that  stood  the  crush." 

"  Think  you'll  share  with  the  crew,  Billy  ?  " 

"  I  want  to,"  Billy  said  with  a  laugh.  Then, 
soberly :  "I  want  to,  for  I  want  t'  get  a  skiff  for 
lobster-fishin'  in  New  Bay.  They's  lots  o'  lob- 
sters there,  an'  they's  no  one  trappin'  down  that 
way.  'Tis  a  great  chance/'  with  a  sigh. 

The  captain  beckoned  Archie  to  the  upper 
deck.  "  Tell  me,  now,*'  he  said,  when  the  boy 
reached  his  side,  "  can  you  go  aloft  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  Archie  answered,  laughing  scornfully. 
"  I'm  no  landsman  ! " 


1 A  floe  of  pans  so  forcibly  driven  by  the  wind  as  to  be  crowded 
into  layers. 


A  CHANCE  IN  THE  CROW'S  NEST  275 

"  True  word,  if  you're  son  of  your  father ! 
Then  get  up  with  the  bar'l  man,  an'  take  a  trick 
at  swatchin'.  'Tis  cold  work,  but  great  sport." 

"  Swatching"  is  merely  the  convenient  form  for 
"  seal  watching."  It  appeared  to  Archie  that  to 
swatch  with  the  barrel  man  must  be  a  highly 
diverting  occupation.  He  was  not  slow  to  mount 
the  rope  ladder  to  the  masthead,  and  slip  into  the 
cask  with  the  swatcher,  who  chanced  to  be  Bill  o' 
Burnt  Bay  and  vociferously  made  him  welcome. 

"  See  anything  yet  ? "  asked  the  boy. 

"  I'll  show  you  them  swiles  (seals)  in  a  minute 
or  two,"  Bill  replied  ^confidently. 

Archie  was  closely  muffled  in  wool  and  fur; 
but  the  wind,  which  was  bitter  and  blowing  hard, 
searched  out  the  unprotected  places,  and  in  five 
minutes  he  was  crouching  in  the  cask  for  shelter, 
only  too  glad  to  find  an  excuse  in  the  s watcher's 
advice. 

"  H-h-h-how  1-1-long  you  been  h-h-here  ? "  he 
chattered. 

"  Sure,  b'y,"  said  Bill,  with  no  suspicion  of  a 
shiver  in  his  voice,  "'tis  goin'  on  two  hours, 
now.' 

"P-p-pretty  cold,  i-i-isn't  it?" 

Bill  o'  Burnt  Bay  did  not  reply.     His  eye  was 


276  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

glued  to  the  telescope,  which  fairly  shook  in  his 
hands.  Then  he  leaned  over  the  rim  of  the  cask, 
altogether  disregarding  its  instability. 

"  Seals  ho !  "  he  roared. 

A  cheer  went  up.  Looking  down,  Archie  saw 
the  men  swarming  to  the  deck. 

"  Take  a  look  at  them  harps,  b'y,"  said  Bill, 
excitedly.  "  No !  Starboard  the  glass.  There ! 
See  them?" 

Archie  made  out  a  myriad  of  moving  specks — 
black  dots,  small  and  great,  shifting  about  over  a 
broad  white  surface.  They  were  like  many  in- 
sects. He  saw  Alexander  Bryan  &  Company's 
vessel,  too ;  and  it  appeared  to  him  that  the  men 
were  just  landing  on  the  ice  to  attack  the  pack. 

"That's  the  Lucky  Star]'  Bill  explained. 
"She's  a  smaller  ship  than  we,  an'  she've  got 
about  a  hundred  men,  I  s'pose.  Never  fear,  lad, 
we'll  be  up  in  time  t'  get  our  share  o'  the 
swiles." 

"  I-I-I-I  g-g-guess  I'll  g-g-go  down,  now,"  said 
Archie. 

Half  an  hour  of  exposure  in  the  crow's-nest  had 
chilled  the  lad  to  numbness.  His  blood  was  run- 
ning sluggishly  ;  he  was  shivering  ;  his  legs  were 
stiff,  and  his  hands  were  cold  and  uncertain  in 


A  CHANCE  IN  THE  CROWS  NEST  277 

their  grip.  He  climbed  out  of  the  cask,  and 
cleverly  enough  made  good  his  footing  on  the 
platform  of  the  nest.  It  was  when  he  essayed 
the  descent  that  he  erred  and  faltered. 

He  had  a  full,  two-handed  grip  on  the  topmast 
backstays,  and  was  secure  in  searching  with  his 
foot  for  the  rope  ladder  lashed  thereto.  But 
when  his  foot  struck,  he  released  his  left  hand 
from  the  stays,  without  pausing  to  make  sure 
that  his  foot  was  firm-fixed  on  the  rung.  His  foot 
missed  the  rung  altogether,  and  found  no  place 
to  rest.  In  a  flash,  he  had  rolled  over,  and  hung 
suspended  by  one  hand,  which,  numb  though  it 
was,  had  unexpectedly  to  bear  the  weight  of  his 
whole  body. 

"Be  careful  goin'  down,  b'y,"  he  heard  Bill  o' 
Burnt  Bay  say. 

The  voice  seemed  to  come  out  of  a  great  dis- 
tance. Archie  knew,  in  a  dim  way,  that  the 
attention  of  the  man  was  fixed  elsewhere — doubt- 
less on  the  herd  of  harps.  Then  he  fell  into  a 
stupefaction  of  terror.  It  seemed  to  him,  in  his 
panic,  that  Bill  would  never  discover  his  situation  ; 
that  he  must  hang  there,  with  his  grip  loosening, 
instant  by  instant — until  he  fell. 

He  was  speechless,  incapable  of  action,  when, 


278  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

by  chance,  Bill  o'  Burnt  Bay  looked  down.  The 
sealer  quietly  reached  over  the  cask  and  caught 
him  by  the  collar  ;  then  lifted  him  to  the  platform, 
and  there  held  him  fast,  Each  looked  silently, 
tensely,  into  the  other's  eyes. 

"  'Tis  a  cold  day,"  said  Bill,  dryly. 

Archie  gasped. 

"  Tough  on  tender  hands,  b'y,"  said  Bill. 

"  Yes,"  gasped  the  lad,  in  a  hoarse  whisper. 

There  was  a  long  silence,  through  which  the 
swatcher  looked  Archie  in  the  eye,  holding  him 
tight  all  the  while. 

"  'Tis  not  wise  t'  be  in  a  hurry,  sometimes," 
he  observed,  at  last. 

The  boy  waited  until  he  could  view  the  neces- 
sity of  descent  with  composure.  Then,  with  ex- 
treme caution,  he  made  his  way  to  the  deck,  and 
went  to  the  cabin,  where  he  warmed  himself  over 
the  stove.  Apparently,  the  incident  had  passed 
unnoticed  from  the  deck.  He  said  nothing  about 
it  to  the  captain,  nor  to  any  one  else ;  nor  did 
Bill  o'  Burnt  Bay,  who  had  an  adequate  concep- 
tion of  the  sensitiveness  of  lads  in  respect  to  such 
narrow  chances. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

The  Ice  Runs  Red,  and,  in  Storm  and  Dusk,  Tim 
Tuttle  Brews  a  Pot  d  Trouble  for  Captain 
Hand,  While  Billy  Topsail  Observes  the  Oper- 
ation 

MEANTIME  the  ship  drew  near  the  ice. 
When  Archie  came  again  on  deck,  his 
nerves  quite  composed,  she  was  being 
driven  in  and  out  through  the  fields  to  a  point  as 
near  to  the  first  seal  pack  as  she  could  be  taken 
— a  mile  distant,  at  the  least.  During  this  te- 
dious search  for  a  landing  place,  the  crew's  eager 
excitement  passed  the  bounds  of  discipline.  The 
men  could  see  the  crew  from  Alexander  Bryan  & 
Company's  Lucky  Star  at  work ;  and  that  ex- 
cited them  the  more:  they  were  mad  to  reach 
the  ice  before  their  rivals  could  molest  the  pack 
for  which  they  were  bound. 

When,  at  last,  the  engines  were  stopped,  a 
party  of  sixty  was  formed  in  a  haphazard  fashion ; 
the  boats  were  lowered  in  haste,  and  the  men 
leaped  and  tumbled  into  them,  crowding  them 
down  to  the  gunwales.  In  one  of  the  boats  were 

Archie  and  Billy,  the  former  in  the  care  of  Bill  o' 

279 


280  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAI1 

Burnt  Bay,  to  whom  the  "  nursing  "  was  not  Al- 
together agreeable,  under  the  circumstances  ;  the 
latter  in  charge  of  himself,  a  lenient  guardian, 
but  a  wise  one. 

"  Don't  get  into  trouble  with  the  crew  o'  the 
Lucky  Star"  had  been  the  captain's  last  com- 
mand. 

The  men  landed,  hurrahing,  and  at  once  or- 
ganized into  half  a  dozen  separate  expeditions. 
The  direction  to  be  taken  by  each  was  determined 
by  the  leaders,  and  they  set  off  at  a  dog  trot 
upon  their  diverging  paths  over  the  ice  to  the 
widely  distributed  seal  pack.  Meantime,  the 
boats  were  taken  back  to  the  ship  and  hoisted  in  ; 
and  the  ship  steamed  off  to  land  another  party 
on  another  field,  thence  to  land  the  last  party 
near  a  third  pack. 

The  boys  trotted  in  Bill's  wake.  Two  pennant 
bearers,  carrying  flags  to  mark  the  heaps  of (<  fat," 
as  they  should  be  formed,  led  the  file.  One  of 
these  men — it  happened  by  chance,  to  all  appear- 
ances— was  the  captain's  enemy,  Tim  Tuttle. 
Their  work  was  particularly  important  on  that 
day,  with  the  crew  of  the  Lucky  Star  working  so 
near  at  hand  ;  for  the  flags  were  to  mark  the 
ownership  of  the  mounds  of  "  fat,"  and  ar»y  tarn- 


A  POT  O'  TROUBLE  281 

pering  with  these  "  brands  "  would  be  likely  to 
precipitate  a  violent  encounter  between  the  men 
of  the  rival  ships. 

"  I'm  thinkin'  'twill  snow  afore  night,"  Bill 
panted,  as  they  ran  along ;  and,  indeed,  it  ap- 
peared that  it  would. 

The  advance  soon  had  to  be  made  with 
caution.  The  hunters  were  so  near  the  pack 
that  the  whines  of  the  white  coats  could  be  heard. 
Archie  could  make  out  not  only  the  harps,  but 
the  blow-holes  beside  which  they  lay  in  family 
groups.  At  this  point  the  men  formed  in  twos 
and  threes,  and  dispersed.  In  a  few  minutes 
more,  they  rushed  upon  the  prey,  striking  right 
and  left. 

The  ice  was  soon  strewn  with  dead  seals.  It 
was  .harvest  time  for  these  impoverished  New- 
foundlanders. Lives  of  seals  for  lives  of  men  and 
women !  Bill  o'  Burnt  Bay  had  ten  "  kids  "  at 
home,  and  he  was  merciless  and  mighty  in  de- 
struction. 

Archie  and  Billy  came  upon  a  family  of  four, 
lying  at  some  distance  from  their  blow-hole — 
two  grown  harps,  a  "  jar,"  which  is  a  one  year 
old  seal,  and  a  ranger,  which  is  three  years  old 
and  spotted  like  a  leopard.  Billy  attacked  the 


282  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

ranger  without  hesitation.  Archie  raised  his 
gaff  above  the  fluffy  little  jar,  which  was  fanning 
itself  with  its  flipper,  and  whining. 

"  I  can't  do  it ! "  he  exclaimed,  lowering  his 
club,  and  turning  away,  faint  at  heart;  then 
"  Look,  Billy ! "  he  cried,  in  half  amused  wonder- 
ment. 

The  old  seals  had  wriggled  off  to  the  blow- 
hole, moving  upon  their  flippers,  in  short  jumps, 
as  fast  as  a  man  could  walk.  Apparently  they 
had  reached  the  hole  at  the  same  instant,  which 
was  not  wide  enough  to  admit  them  both. 
Neither  would  give  way  to  the  other.  They 
were  stuck  fast,  their  heads  below,  their  fat 
bodies  above. 

Their  selfish  haste  was  their  undoing.  Billy  was 
not  loath  to  take  advantage  of  their  predicament. 

Thus,  everywhere,  the  men  were  at  work. 
There  was  no  friction  with  the  crew  of  tt&Lucky 
Star ;  the  whole  party  worked  amicably,  and 
almost  side  by  side.  When  they  had  dispersed 
the  pack,  the  "  sculping "  knives  were  drawn, 
and  the  labour  of  skinning  was  vigorously  pros- 
ecuted. The  skins,  with  the  blubber  adhering, 
were  piled  in  heaps  of  six  or  more,  according  to 
the  strength  of  the  men  who  were  to  "  tow  "  them 


A  POT  O'  TROUBLE  283 

to  the  edge  of  the  field,  where  the  ship  was  to 
return  in  the  evening;  and  every  "tow"  was 
marked  with  an  Armstrong  and  Son  flag. 

The  Lucky  Star's  recall  gun  surprised  the  men 
before  the  work  was  finished.  They  looked  up 
to  find  that  the  dusk  was  upon  them,  and  that 
the  snow  was  falling — falling  ever  more  thickly, 
and  drifting  with  the  wind.  The  men  of  the 
Lucky  Star  stopped  work,  hurriedly  saw  to  it 
that  their  heaps  of  pelt  were  all  marked,  and 
started  on  a  run  for  the  ship  ,  for,  on  the  ice 
fields,  the  command  of  the  recall  gun  is  never 
disregarded. 

"  There  goes  the  Dictator's  gun,"  shouted  one 
of  the  men. 

A  second  boom  added  force  to  the  warning. 
The  captain  was  evidently  anxious  to  have  his 
men  safe  out  of  the  storm ;  the  "  fat "  could  be 
taken  aboard  in  the  morning.  So  Bill  o'  Burnt 
Bay,  who  was  in  tacit  command  of  the  party, 
called  his  men  about  him,  and  led  the  return. 
It  was  a  mile  over  the  ice  to  the  Dictator, 
which  lay  waiting,  with  the  second  and  third 
parties  aboard.  He  was  in  haste ;  moreover, 
he  had  Sir  Archibald  Armstrong's  son  in  his 
care :  perhaps,  that  is  why  he  did  not  stop  to 


284  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

count  the  Dictators  heaps  of  pelt  before  he 
started. 

"  Come,  now,  Tuttle,  don't  lag !  "  he  shouted, 
ambitious  to  have  his  party  return  with  no 
delay. 

But  Tuttle  still  lagged — or,  rather,  ran  from 
heap  to  heap  of  pelt,  as  though  to  make  sure 
that  each  was  marked.  He  busied  himself,  in- 
deed, until  the  party  was  well  in  advance — until, 
as  he  thought,  there  was  no  eye  to  see  what  he 
did  under  cover  of  the  driving  snow.  Then  he 
quickly  snatched  Lucky  Star  flags  from  half  a 
dozen  heaps  of  "fat,"  cast  them  away,  and 
planted  Dictator  flags  in  their  stead — a  dishon- 
ourable duty  which  the  house-flag  of  Armstrong 
&  Son  had  never  before  been  made  to  do. 

Quite  sure,  now,  that  he  had  shot  an  arrow 
that  would  sorely  wound  Captain  Hand  and  the 
firm  of  Armstrong  &  Son,  Tuttle  ran  after  his 
party.  When  he  was  yet  some  distance  behind, 
he  turned  about,  and  saw  a  small  figure  follow- 
ing him.  He  stopped  dead — and  waited  until 
that  small  figure  came  up. 

"Topsail,"  he  demanded,  "what  you  been 
doin'  back  there  ?  " 

Billy  was  very  much  frightened ;  but  he  was  a 


A  POT  O'  TROUBLE  285 

truthful  boy,  and  he  now  told  the  truth.  "  Been 
sculpin'  an'  pilin'  me  s wiles,  sir,"  he  stammered. 

"  Has  you  been  touchin'  them  flags  ?  " 

"  N-n-no,  sir.  I  didn't  have  no  time.  I  was 
af eared  I'd  get  lost  in  the  snow." 

Tuttle  caught  the  boy  by  the  shoulders,  and 
stared  fiercely  into  his  eyes.  "  Did  you  see 
what  I  done  ?  "  he  demanded. 

Billy  was  strongly  tempted  to  choose  the 
easier  way ;  but,  as  I  have  said,  he  was  a  truth- 
ful lad,  and  a  brave  lad,  too.  The  temptation 
passed  in  a  moment,  and  he  fearlessly  returned 
Tuttle's  stare. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  he  said. 

"  If  you  tells  Cap'n  Hand  what  you  saw,"  said 
Tuttle,  tightening  his  grip,  and  bringing  his  face 
close  to  the  lad's,  "  I'll " 

He  did  not  complete  the  threat.  Billy  Top- 
sail's imagination,  as  he  knew,  would  conceive 
the  most  terrible  revenge. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  Billy  gasped,  vacantly  ;  for  he  was 
more  frightened  than  he  had  ever  before  been  in 
his  short  life. 

That  was  all.  They  ran  at  full  speed  after 
their  party,  and  soon  joined  it.  Tuttle  kept  at 
Billy's  side  while  they  were  getting  aboard  the 


286  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

ship,  kept  at  his  side  while  supper  was  served  in 
the  forecastle,  kept  at  his  side  through  the  short 
evening ;  kept  at  his  side  all  the  time,  in  a  haunt- 
ing, threatening  way  that  frightened  Billy  as 
nothing  else  could,  until  the  lad,  tired  out  and 
utterly  discouraged  as  to  the  purpose  he  had 
formed,  turned  in,  no  less  to  escape  Tuttle,  who 
had  now  grown  hateful  to  him,  than  to  rest. 

"  Oh,"  he  thought,  "  if  Archie  had  on'y  come 
t'  the  fo'c's'le  this  night,  I  might  'a'  told  him ; 
but  now — I  thinks — I'll  be  af eared,  in  the 
mornin'." 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

In  Which  Tim  Tutttes  Shaft  Flies  Straight  for 
the  Mark.  The  Crews  of  the  Dictator  and 
Lucky  Star  Declare  War,  and  Captain 
Hand  is  Threatened  with  the  Shame  of  Dis- 
honoury  While  Young  Billy  Topsail,  Who  Has 
the  Solution  of  the  Difficulty \  is  in  the  Hold  of 
the  Ship 

TIM  TUTTLE'S  design  against  the  hon- 
our of  Captain  Hand  and  of  the  firm  of 
Armstrong  &  Son  promised  well.  The 
following  day  broke  fine ;  and,  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, the  crew  of  the  Dictator  was  turned  out  to 
load  the  "fat"  which  had  been  left  on  the  floe 
over  night.  About  one  hundred  men  were  sent 
to  the  ice  ;  the  rest  were  kept  on  the  ship  to  stow 
away  the  "  tows  "  as  they  came  aboard.  Among 
the  latter  was  young  Billy  Topsail,  who  was 
ordered  to  the  hold  the  moment  he  appeared  on 
deck. 

The  party  under  Bill  o'  Burnt  Bay  was  first  on 
the  ground.  Presently,  the  men  from  the  Lucky 
Star  arrived.  For  a  time,  pleasant  words  passed 

between  the  crews.     Soon,  however,  a  group  of 

287 


288  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

Lucky  Star  hunters  gathered  out  of  hearing  of 
the  Dictator's  crew.  Their  voices,  which  had 
been  low  at  first,  rose  angrily,  and  to  such  a 
pitch  that  the  attention  of  Bill  o'  Burnt  Bay  was 
attracted.  He  observed  their  suspicious  glances, 
their  wrathful  faces,  their  threatening  gestures ; 
and  he  promptly  surmised  that  trouble  of  a 
familiar  kind  was  brewing. 

It  was  evident  that  there  was  to  be  a  dispute 
over  the  possession  of  certain  of  the  "tows." 
The  rights  of  that  dispute  Bill  was  not  in  a  po- 
sition to  determine.  So  far  as  he  knew — and  he 
was  bound  to  stand  squarely  upon  his  own 
knowledge — there  had  been  no  wrong-doing  on 
the  part  of  his  men ;  and,  being  a  man  who 
never  failed  in  his  duty  to  the  firm,  he  resolved 
that  not  an  ounce  of  "  fat "  which  then  lay  under 
a  flag  of  Armstrong  &  Son  should  be  yielded  to 
the  Lucky  Star  until  a  higher  authority  than  he 
gave  the  word.  Needless  to  say,  that  is  pre- 
cisely what  Tuttle  expected  of  him. 

Moving  quietly,  lest  he  should  provoke  the 
dispute,  Bill  warned  his  men  to  be  on  the  alert. 
And  it  was  not  long  before  the  crew  of  the 
Lucky  Star,  with  a  stout  fellow  at  their  head, 
advanced  threateningly. 


THE  THREAT  OF  DISHONOUR    289 

"  Look  here,  you,  Bill  o'  Burnt  Bay,"  shouted 
the  leader,  "some  o'  your  men  have  been  stealin' 
our  tows." 

"  Oh,  come,  now,  Johnny  Tott,"  Bill  replied, 
good-humouredly,  "that  ain't  our  way  o'  gettin' 
a  cargo." 

The  men  of  the  Dictator  gathered  behind  Bill. 
Bill  would  have  been  better  pleased  had  they 
gathered  with  less  haste,  had  there  been  less  of 
the  battle-light  in  their  eyes,  had  they  held  their 
gaffs  less  tightly — but  all  that,  of  course,  was  be- 
yond his  control ;  he  could  only  make  sure  to 
have  them  there  to  defend  the  rights  of  the 
firm. 

"  You  can't  scare  me  f  "  Johnny  Tott  flashed, 
angered  by  what  he  understood  to  be  a  display 
of  force,  but  still  trying  to  keep  his  temper. 
"  We  left  twenty-two  tows  here  last  night,  an' 
we  find  sixteen  this  mornin'.  Who  took  the 
odd  six?" 

Bill  was  bent  on  having  the  question  referred 
to  the  captains  of  the  ships.  They  might  settle 
it  as  they  would.  As  for  him — knowing  from 
experience  how  quickly  such  encounters  might 
come,  and  how  violent  they  might  be — all  he 
desired  was  peaceably  to  protect  the  interests  of 


290  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

his  employers,  and  of  the  men,  who  had  a  per- 
centage interest  in  every  seal  killed. 

"  I  don't  want  t'  scare  you,  Johnny  Tott,"  he 
replied,  quietly.  "  I  thinks  you've  counted  your 
flags  wrong.  Now,  why  can't  we  just " 

Then  came  an  unfortunate  interruption.  It  was 
a  long,  derisive  cat-call  from  one  of  Bill's  men — 
none  other  than  Tim  Tuttle.  That  was  more 
than  could  be  borne  by  men  who  were  confident 
of  their  rights. 

"Thieves!"  half  a  dozen  of  the  crew  of  the 
Lucky  Star  retorted.  "  A  pack  o'  thieves  1 " 

It  was  a  critical  moment.  The  Dictator's  men, 
too,  believed  themselves  to  be  in  the  right ;  and 
there  was  a  limit  to  what  they,  too,  could  suffer. 
To  be  called  thieves  was  perilously  near  that 
limit,  already  provoked,  as  they  were,  by  what 
they  thought  a  bold  attempt  to  rob  them  of 
their  seals. 

Bill  turned  quickly  on  his  own  men.  "  Stand 
back ! "  he  cried,  knowing  well  that  a  rush 
impended. 

"Thieves!  Thieves!"  taunted  the  crew  of 
the  Lucky  Star. 

"  Keep  your  men  quiet ! "  Bill  roared  to 
Johnny  Tott.  "  There'll  be  trouble  if  you  don't" 


THE  THREAT  OF  DISHONOUR    291 

The  Liicky  Star  men  were  outnumbered ;  but 
not  so  far  outnumbered  that  their  case  would  be 
hopeless  in  a  hand-to-hand  fight.  Nevertheless, 
it  was  the  part  of  wisdom  for  Johnny  Tott,  who 
was  himself  animated  by  the  best  motives,  to 
keep  them  quiet.  He  faced  them,  berated  them 
roundly,  and  threatened  to  "  knock  the  first  man 
down  "  who  should  dare  to  continue  the  disturb- 
ance. Thus  encouraged,  Bill  o'  Burnt  Bay  ad- 
dressed his  crew  briefly  and  to  the  point. 

"  No  nonsense,  men  I  "  he  growled.  "  We 
wants  no  bloodshed  here.  The  first  man  that 
passes  me,"  he  added,  in  such  a  way  that  not  a 
man  of  them  doubted  he  would  make  good  his 
word,  "  may  get  hurt,  an'  badly  hurt,  afore  he 
knows  it." 

It  was  no  time  for  gentle  dealing.  Bill  had 
strong,  angry  men  to  deal  with ;  and  the  re- 
sponsibility of  keeping  them  from  wronging 
themselves  and  their  fellows  sat  heavily  upon 
him.  Confident,  however,  that  he  had  them  in 
check,  he  advanced  to  parley  with  Tott.  All 
would  doubtless  have  gone  smoothly  had  there 
not  been  a  designing  man  on  Bill's  side.  That 
man  was  Tuttle,  to  whom  the  course  of  events 
was  not  pleasing.  Perceiving,  now,  that  an  en- 


292  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

counter  was  likely  to  be  warded  off,  he  de* 
termined  to  precipitate  it. 

"  Who  called  me  a  thief?  "  he  burst  out. 

Then  he  broke  away  from  his  fellows,  and  ran 
towards  the  crew  of  the  Lucky  Star,  with  his  gaff 
upraised.  But  Bill  o'  Burnt  Bay  was  quick  as  a 
flash  to  intercept  him.  He  tripped  Tuttle  up 
with  his  gaff,  fairly  leaped  upon  the  prostrate 
form,  caught  the  man  by  the  collar,  dragged  him 
back  and  flung  him  at  the  feet  of  the  crew.  And, 
meantime,  the  Lucky  Star  men,  who  had  instantly 
prepared  to  meet  Tuttle,  laughed  uproariously. 
That  hearty  laugh  lightened  the  situation  percep- 
tibly. 

"  An'  here  comes  Cap'n  Black ! "  shouted  one 
of  the  men. 

Captain  Hand  of  the  Dictator,  too,  was  on  his 
way  over  the  ice.  Both  skippers  had  observed 
the  cessation  of  the  work  and  the  separation  of 
the  men  into  two  hostile  parties.  Familiar  as 
they  were  with  such  disputes,  they  needed  no 
message  to  tell  them  that  their  presence  was  ur- 
gently needed  on  the  floe.  They  came  over  the 
ice  at  full  speed,  at  the  same  time  trying  to  get  at 
the  merits  of  the  quarrel  from  the  men  who  ran  to 
meet  them  ;  and,  being  fat  sea-captains,  both  of 


THE  THREAT  OF  DISHONOUR    293 

them,  and  altogether  unused  to  hurried  locomo- 
tion afoot,  they  were  quite  out  of  breath  when 
they  met. 

The  skipper  of  the  Lucky  Star  was  a  florid, 
peppery  little  man,  much  given  to  standing  upon 
his  dignity. 

"Cap'n  Hand,"  he  puffed,  "this  is—an  out- 
rage, sir !  Is  this  the  way " 

"  'Scuse  me — Cap'n  B-Black — sir,"  the  skipper 
of  the  Dictator  panted,  his  little  red  eyes  almost 
hidden  by  his  bushy  brows ;  "  but — I'm  wonder — 
ful  s' prised — that " 

Captain  Black  drew  a  long  breath,  and  pro- 
ceeded more  easily,  but  still  with  magnificent 
dignity.  "  I'm  wonderful  surprised  t'  know,  sir," 
he  said,  "  that  this  is  the  way  Cap'n  Hand  makes 
a  good  v'y'ge  of  it  every  year.  I  never  knew 
how  before,  sir." 

"I'd  have  you  t'  know,  sir,"  returned  Captain 
Hand,  bristling  ominously,  "  that  I  'lows  no  man 
t'  call  me  a  thief." 

"I'd  have  you  t'  know,  sir,  that  your  men  have 
stolen  my  fat." 

"  An'  I'll  have  you  t'  know,  sir,  that  that's  t'  be 
proved." 

"  Cap'n  Hand,  sir,"  declared  Captain  Black, 


294  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

swelling  like  a  pouter-pigeon  the  meanwhile, 
"  you  whole  crew  outnumbers  mine  nigh  two  t' 
one,  or  I'd  load  every  pound  o'  fat  on  the  ice  on 
my  ship.  But  I  tells  you  now,  sir,  that  I'll  have 
the  law  o'  you  at  St.  John's.  If  you  touch 
them  six  tows  I'll  have  you  sent  t'  coolie  for  a 
thief,  sir,  if  there's  an  honest  jury  in  the  land  1 
Mark  my  words,  sir,  I'll  do  it ! " 

The  upshot  of  it  all  was,  when  both  captains 
had  cut  a  ridiculous  figure  for  a  considerable  time 
(and  had  found  it  out),  that  the  crews  were  with- 
drawn to  the  ships,  ostensibly  for  dinner,  but 
really  that  they  might  be  kept  apart  while  their 
blood  was  heated.  A  conference  was  appointed 
for  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon ;  and  in  the  in- 
terval the  captains  were  more  fully  and  more  ac- 
curately to  inform  themselves  by  examining  their 
respective  crews.  This  was  a  very  sensible 
agreement.  So  far  as  it  went,  Captain  Hand  was 
content ;  but,  being  a  wise  and  experienced  man, 
he  foresaw  that  an  amicable  settlement  of  the  diffi- 
culty was  extremely  doubtful. 

."I  hopes,  anyhow,  that  'twill  not  come  t' 
blows,"  he  told  Archie,  as  they  trudged  along,  for 
his  position  made  it  impossible  for  him  to  confide 
in  anybody  else.  "  'Twill  be  a  dreadful  disgrace 


THE  THREAT  OF  DISHONOUR    295 

if  it  comes  t'  blows.  An?  maybe  'twill  be  some- 
thing worse." 

When  the  men  reached  the  Dictator,  Billy  Top- 
sail was  waiting  on  deck,  keen  as  the  rest  of  them 
to  know  what  had  happened  on  the  ice.  He  had 
a  wholesome  conscience,  and  a  reasonable  cour- 
age ;  he  had  fully  determined  to  do  his  duty,  and 
was  about  to  attract  Archie  Armstrong's  attention 
— Archie  was  to  be  his  first  confidant — when 
Tuttle  slipped  quietly  to  his  side,  and  laid  a  hand 
on  his  shoulder.  Billy  had  no  need  to  look  up  ; 
he  knew  whose  hand  that  was,  and  what  the  firm, 
increasing  pressure  meant. 

"You  better  go  t'  the  fo'c's'le,  lad,"  Tuttle 
whispered  in  his  ear. 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

In  Which  the  Issue  is  Determined 

BILLY  TOPSAIL  went  to  the  forecastle  as 
he  was  bid.  With  Tuttle  so  near,  he 
seemed  not  to  have  the  will  to  carry  out 
his  purpose.  He  passed  Archie  on  the  way  for- 
ward, even  responded  to  his  nod  and  merry 
greeting  with  a  wistful  smile ;  but  said  nothing, 
for  he  felt  that  Tuttle' s  cold  gray  eyes  were  fixed 
upon  him.  Archie  marked  that  strange  smile, 
and  thought — it  was  just  a  fleeting  thought — that 
Billy  must  be  in  trouble ;  he  was  about  to  stop, 
but  put  the  solicitous  question  off — until  another 
time. 

Aboard  the  Lucky  Star,  Captain  Black  called 
Johnny  Tott  to  his  cabin.  It  was  a  serious  mo- 
ment for  both,  as  both  knew.  The  hunter 
realized  that  the  captain  would  act  upon  his 
statement,  and  that  there  would  be  no  return, 
once  the  course  was  taken.  Moreover,  he  knew 
that  he  would  have  to  take  oath,  and  support 
that  oath  with  evidence,  in  the  court-room  at 

St.  John's. 

296 


FRUSTRATED  297 

"  Now,  John,  I  wants  just  the  plainest  kind  o' 
truth,"  the  captain  began,  for,  shorn  of  his  ex- 
aggerated dignity,  he  was  a  fair,  honest-hearted 
man.  "I've  been  friends  with  Cap'n  Hand  ever 
since  we  was  young,  an'  I've  liked  him  every 
hour  o'  that  time,  an'  I've  believed  in  him  every 
minute ;  so  I'm  in  no  humour  t'  have  a  fallin'  out 
with  him.  It'll  go  hard  with  the  man  who 
wrongfully  leads  me  into  that.  Come,  now, 
what's  the  truth  o'  all  this  ?  " 

"The  truth,  sir,"  Johnny  replied,  slowly,  "is 
this :  We  left  twenty-two  tows  on  the  ice  last 
night,  every  one  with  a  Bryan  &  Company  flag 
flyin'  over  it,  an'  we  found  but  sixteen  this 
mornin'.  That's  all  I  knows  about  it." 

"  Did  you  make  the  count  alone  ?  " 

"No,  sir.  They  was  three  others,  which," 
most  importantly,  "  I  can  pro-dooce  any  min- 
ute." 

"  All  right,  Johnny,"  said  the  captain,  striking 
the  table  with  his  fist.  "I  believe  you.  You 
won't  find  Cap'n  Black  go  back  on  his  crew 
I'll  have  that  fat,  if  I  have  t'  fight  for  it ! " 

While  this  was  passing,  Captain  Hand  had 
summoned  Bill  o'  Burnt  Bay,  Ebenezer  Bow- 
sprit and  two  or  three  other  trustworthy  men  to 


298  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

his  cabin,  and  requested  Archie  Armstrong  (the 
good  captain  seemed  to  consider  the  lad  in  some 
measure  a  representative  of  the  firm)  to  hear  the 
interview.  One  and  all,  for  themselves  and  for 
the  crew,  they  earnestly  denied  knowledge  of 
any  trickery.  They  regretted,  they  said,  that  the 
incident  had  occurred ;  but  they  believed  that  the 
seals  were  the  property  of  the  ship,  and  they 
hoped  that  the  captain  would  not  "  see  them 
robbed." 

"  But,  Bill,"  said  the  captain,  hopelessly,  "  you 
didn't  count  the  tows?" 

" No,  sir,"  Bill  answered,  promptly,  "I'm 
bound  t'  say  I  didn't.  After  your  two  recall 
guns,  sir,  we  was  in  a  hurry  t'  get  aboard. 
Twas  a  fault,  I  knows,  sir,  but  it  can't  be  helped 
now,  I  don't  know  that  anybody  changed  the 
flags.  I  hasn't  any  reason  t'  think  so.  So  I 
believe  that  the  fat's  ours." 

"Well,  men,"  the  captain  concluded,  "that's 
just  my  position.  I  knows  nothin'  t'  the  con- 
trary; so  I  got  t'  believe  that  the  fat's  ours. 
You'll  tell  the  crew  that  I'll  stand  by  them. 
We'll  take  that  fat,  whatever  they  tries  t'  do, 
an'  we'll  let  the  courts  decide  afterwards.  That's 
all" 


FRUSTRATED  299 

There  was  fret  and  uncertainty  for  the  captain 
after  the  men  trooped  out.  He  was  an  honest 
man,  seeking  the  right,  but  not  sure  that  he  was 
right.  It  seemed  to  him  that,  whatever  the  out- 
come, his  reputation  and  that  of  the  firm  would 
be  tarnished.  In  a  trial  at  law,  the  crew  of  the 
Lucky  Star  and  the  firm  of  Alexander  Bryan  & 
Company  would  appear  as  the  aggrieved  parties. 
Men  would  say — yes,  men  would  even  publicly 
take  oath  to  it — that  Captain  Hand  was  a  thief, 
and  that  the  firm  of  Armstrong  &  Son  abused  its 
power  and  wealth  in  sustaining  him.  Not  every- 
body would  believe  that,  of  course ;  but  many 
would — and  the  odium  of  the  charge  would 
never  disappear,  let  the  verdict  of  the  jury  be 
what  it  might. 

"B'y,"  he  said  to  Archie,  in  great  distress, 
"  'tis  a  tryin'  place  t'  be  in.  I  wants  t'  wrong  no- 
body. 'T  would  wound  me  sore  t'  wrong  Cap'n 
Black,  who's  always  been  my  friend.  But  I  got 
t'  have  that  fat.  A  sealin'  skipper  that  goes 
back  on  his  crew  is  not  fit  for  command.  I  must 
stand  by  the  men.  If  I  had  an  enemy,  b'y,"  he 
added,  "an'  that  enemy  wanted  t'  ruin  me,  he 
couldn't  choose  a  better •" 

Captain  Hand  stopped  dead  and  stared  at  the 


300  The  ADVENTURES  <?/  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

table — stared,  and  gaped,  until  his  appearance 
was  altogether  out  of  the  common. 

"  What's  the  matter,  cap'n  ? "  asked  Archie, 
alarmed. 

At  that  moment,  however,  there  was  a  knock 
at  the  door.  Billy  Topsail  came  in,  pale  and 
wide-eyed ;  but  the  sight  of  Archie  seemed  to 
compose  him. 

"  I  got  t'  tell  you  about  Tim  Tuttle,"  he  began, 
hurriedly.  "  I  hears  there's  goin'  t'  be  a  fight, 
an' — an' — I  got  t'  tell  you  that  I  seed  him 
change  the  flags  on  the  tows." 

"  What ! "  shouted  the  captain,  jumping  out  of 
his  chair. 

And  so  it  all  came  out.  At  the  end  of  the  talk, 
Billy  Topsail  was  assured  by  the  smiling  captain 
that  he  need  not  fear  Tim  Tuttle  after  a  word  or 
two  had  been  spoken  with  him.  Bill  o'  Burnt 
Bay  was  summoned,  and  corroborated  Billy's 
statement  that  Tuttle  was  the  last  man  to  leave 
the  tows.  And  Tuttle  was  the  captain's  enemy ! 
Everybody  knew  it.  The  difficulties  were  thus 
all  brushed  away.  The  crew  would  accept  the 
explanation  and  be  content.  Tuttle  would  be 
ridiculed  until  he  was  well  punished  for  the  trick 
that  had  so  nearly  succeeded.  It  was  a  good 


FRUSTRATED  301 

ending  to  the  affair — a  far  better  outcome  than 
any  man  aboard  had  dared  hope  for. 

"Bill,"  said  the  captain,  with  an  odd  little 
smile,  "  send  Tim  Tuttle  t'  Cap'n  Black,  with  my 
compliments ;  an'  will  Cap'n  Black  be  so  kind  as 
t'  accept  my  apology,  and  have  a  friendly  cup  o' 
tea  with  me  immediate  ?  " 

Later,  when  Tuttle  left  the  captain's  cabin, 
after  the  "  word^or  two  "  had  been  spoken,  he  was 
not  grateful  for  the  generous  treatment  he  had  re- 
ceived. He  meditated  further  mischief ;  but  be- 
fore the  second  opportunity  offered,  there  hap- 
pened something  which  put  animosity  out  of  the 
hearts  of  all  the  crew. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

//  Appears  That  the  Courage  and  Strength  of  the 
Son  of  a  Colonial  Knight  are  to  be  Tried,  The 
Hunters  are  Caught  in  a  Great  Storm 

THE  Lucky  Star  and  the  Dictator  parted 
company  the  next  day — the  former  bound 
for  the  Labrador  coast,  the  latter  in  a 
southerly  direction  to  White  Bay.  For  several 
days,  the  Dictator  ran  here  and  there  among  the 
great  floes,  attacking  small  herds  ;  and  at  the  end 
of  a  week  she  had  ten  thousand  seals  in  her  hold. 
But  that  cargo  did  not  by  any  means  content 
Captain  Hand.  Indeed,  he  began  to  fear  the  voy- 
age would  be  little  better  than  a  failure.  Noth- 
ing less  than  twenty  thousands  pelts  would  be  a 
profitable  "  haul  "  for  a  vessel  of  the  Dictator's 
tonnage  to  carry  back  to  St.  John's. 

For  that  reason,  perhaps,  both  the  captain  and 
the  men  were  willing  to  take  some  risk,  when, 
late  one  morning,  a  large  herd  was  sighted  on  a 
floe  near  the  coast  in  the  southwest.  The  dan- 
ger lay  in  the  weather :  it  was  an  unpromising 

day — cold  and  dull,  and  threatening  snow  and 

302 


THE  BREWING  OF  THE  GALE     303 

storm.  For  a  time  the  captain  hesitated  ;  but,  at 
last,  he  determined  to  land  his  men  in  three 
parties,  caution  them  to  be  watchful  and  quick, 
and  himself  try  to  keep  the  Dictator  within  easy 
reach  of  them  all.  It  really  did  not  appear  to  be 
necessary  to  waste  the  day  merely  because  the 
sky  was  dark  over  the  coast. 

Bill  o'  Burnt  Bay's  party  was  landed  first 
Billy  Topsail  and  Tim  Tuttle  were  members  of 
it ;  and,  as  usual,  Archie  Armstrong  attached 
himself  to  it.  As  the  Dictator  steamed  away  to 
land  the  second  crew,  and,  thence,  still  further 
away  to  land  the  third,  Bill  led  his  men  on  a  trot 
for  the  pack,  which  lay  about  a  mile  from  the 
water's  edge. 

"  Tis  a  queer  day,  this,"  Bill  observed  to  the 
boys,  who  trotted  in  his  wake. 

"  Sure,  why  ?  "  asked  Billy. 

"  Is  it  t'  snow,  or  is  it  not  ?  Can  you  answer 
me  that  ?  Sure,  I  most  always  can  tell  that  lit- 
tle thing,  but  t'-day  I  can't." 

"Tis  like  snow,"  Billy  replied,  puzzled,  "an* 
again  'tisn't.  Tis  queer,  that ! " 

"  I  hopes  the  captain  keeps  the  ship  at  hand," 
said  Bill.  "  Tis  not  t'  my  taste  t'  spend  a  night 
on  the  floe  in  a  storm." 


3o4  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

To  be  lost  in  a  blizzard  is  a  dreaded  danger, 
and  not  at  all  an  uncommon  experience.  Many 
crews,  lost  from  the  ship  in  a  blinding  storm, 
have  been  carried  out  to  sea  with  the  floe,  and 
never  heard  of  afterwards.  Bill  o'  Burnt  Bay  lost 
his  own  father  in  that  way,  and  himself  had  had 
two  narrow  escapes  from  the  same  fate.  So  he 
scanned  the  sky  anxiously,  not  only  as  he  ran 
along  at  the  head  of  his  sixty  men,  but  from  time 
to  time  through  the  day,  until  the  excitement  of 
the  hunt  put  all  else  out  of  his  head. 

it  was  a  profitable  hunt.  The  men  laboured 
diligently  and  rapidly.  So  intent  on  the  work 
in  hand  were  they  that  none  observed  the  dark- 
ening sky  and  the  gusts  of  wind  that  broke  from 
behind  the  rocky  coast.  Thus,  towards  evening, 
when  the  work  was  over  save  the  sculping 
and  lashing,  dusk  caught  them  unaware  Bill 
o'  Burnt  Bay  looked  up  to  find  that  the  snow 
was  flying,  that  it  was  black  as  ink  in  the  north- 
east, and  that  the  wind  was  blowing  in  long, 
angry  gusts. 

"  Men/'  he  cried,  "  did  you  ever  see  a  sky  like 
that?" 

The  men  watched  the  heavy  clouds  in  the 
northeast  rise  and  swiftly  spread. 


THE  BREWING  OF  THE  GALE     305 

"  Sure,  it  looks  bad,"  muttered  one. 

"  Make  haste  with  the  sculpin',"  Bill  ordered. 
"  They's  wonderful  heavy  weather  comin'  up.  I 
mind  me  a  time  when  a  blizzard  come  out  of  a 
sky  like  that." 

The  dusk  grew  deeper,  the  snow  fell  thicker, 
the  wind  rose ;  and  all  this  Bill  observed  while  he 
worked.  Groups  of  men  lashed  their  tows  and 
started  off  for  the  edge  of  the  floe  where  the 
steamer  was  to  return  for  them. 

"Lash  your  tows,  b'ys,"  shouted  Bill,  to  the 
rest  of  the  men.  "  Leave  the  rest  go.  'Tis  too 
late  t'  sculp  any  more." 

There  was  some  complaint ;  but  Bill  silenced 
the  growlers  with  a  sharp  word  or  two.  The 
whole  party  set  off  in  a  straggling  line,  dragging 
their  tows ;  it  was  Bill  who  brought  up  the  rear, 
for  he  wanted  to  make  sure  that  his  company 
would  come  entire  to  the  landing-place.  Strong, 
stinging  blasts  of  wind  were  then  sweeping  out  of 
the  northeast,  and  the  snow  was  fast  narrowing 
the  view. 

"Faster,  b'ys!"  cried  Bill.  "The  storm's 
comin'  wonderful  quick." 

The  storm  came  faster  than,  with  all  his  ex- 
perience, Bill  o'  Burnt  Bay  had  before  believed 


306  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

possible.  When  he  had  given  the  order  to 
abandon  the  unskinned  seals,  he  thought  that 
there  was  time  and  to  spare  ;  but,  now,  with  less 
than  half  the  distance  to  the  landing-place  cov- 
ered, the  men  were  already  staggering,  the  wind 
was  blowing  a  gale,  and  the  blinding  snow  al- 
most hid  the  flags  at  the  water's  edge.  When 
he  realized  this,  and  that  the  ship  was  not  ye(  \  a 
sight,  "  Drop  everything,  an'  run  for  it ! "  was 
the  order  he  sent  up  the  line. 

"Archie,  b'y,"  he  then  shouted,  catching  the 
lad  by  the  arm  and  drawing  him  nearer,  "we 
got  t'  run  for  the  landing-place.  Stick  close  t' 
me.  When  you're  done  out,  I'll  carry  you.  Is 
you  afraid,  b'y  ?  " 

Archie  looked  up,  but  did  not  deign  to  reply 
to  the  humiliating  question. 

"All  right,  lad,"  said  Bill,  understanding. 
"  Is  you  ready  ?  " 

Archie  knew  that  his  strength  and  courage 
were  to  be  tried.  He  was  tired,  and  cold,  and 
almost  hopeless ;  but,  then  and  there,  he  resolved 
to  prove  his  blood  and  breeding — to  prove  to 
these  men,  who  had  been  unfailingly  kind  to 
him,  but  yet  had  naturally  looked  with  good- 
natured  contempt  upon  his  fine  clothes  and  white 


THE  BREWING  OF  THE  GALE      307 

hands,  that  fortitude  was  not  incompatible  with  a 
neat  cravat  and  nice  manners.  Beyond  all  that, 
however,  it  was  his  aim  to  prove  that  Sir  Archi- 
bald Armstrong's  son  was  the  son  of  his  own 
father. 

"  Lead  on,  Bill,"  he  said. 

"Good  lad!"  Bill  muttered. 

Archie  bent  to  the  blast. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

In  Which  the  Men  are  Lost,  the  Dictator  is 
Nipped  and  Captain  Hand  Sobs,  "Poor  Sir 
Archibald!" 

WHEN  the  last  party  of  hunters  had  been 
landed  from  the  Dictator,  the  ship  was 
taken  off  the  ice  field;  and  there  she 
hung,  in  idleness,  awaiting  the  end  of  the  hunt. 
It  was  then  long  past  noon.  The  darkening  sky 
in  the  northeast  promised  storm  and  an  early 
night  more  surely  than  ever.  It  fretted  the  cap- 
tain. He  was  accountable  to  the  women  and 
children  of  Green  Bay  for  the  lives  of  the  men  ; 
so  he  kept  to  the  deck,  with  an  eye  on  the 
weather:  and  while  the  gloom  deepened  and 
spread,  a  storm  of  anxiety  gathered  in  his  heart 
— and,  at  last,  broke  in  action. 

"  Call  the  watch,  Mr.  Ackell !"  he  cried,  sharply. 
"  We'll  wait  no  longer." 

He  ran  to  the  bridge,  signalled  "  Stand  by  1 " 
to  the  engine-room,  and  ordered  the  firing  of  the 

recall   gun.     The  men   of  the  last  party  were 

308 


THE  DICTATOR  IS  NIPPED        309 

within  ear  of  the  report.  It  brought  all  work  on 
the  ice  to  a  close.  The  men  waited  only  to  pile 
the  dead  seals  in  heaps  and  mark  possession 
with  flags. 

"  Again,  mate  I "  shouted  the  captain. 
"  They're  long  about  comin',  it  seems  t'  me." 

A  second  discharge  brought  the  men  on  a  run 
to  the  edge  of  the  ice.  It  was  evident  that  some 
danger  threatened.  ;They  ran  at  full  speed, 
crowded  aboard  the  waiting  boats,  and  were  em- 
barked as  quickly  as  might  be.  Then  the  ship 
steamed  off  to  the  second  field,  five  miles  distant, 
to  pick  up  the  second  party.  When  she  came 
within  hearing  distance,  three  signal  guns  were 
fired,  with  the  result  that,  when  she  came  to,  the 
men  were  waiting  for  the  boats. 

It  was  a  run  of  six  miles  to  the  field  upon  which 
the  first  party  had  been  landed — part  of  the  way 
in  and  out  among  the  pans.  The  storm  had  now 
taken  form  and  was  advancing  swiftly,  and  the 
fields  in  the  northeast  were  hidden  in  a  spread- 
ing darkness.  The  wind  had  risen  to  half  a  gale, 
and  it  was  beginning  to  snow.  A  run  of  six 
miles!  The  captain's  heart  sank.  When  he 
looked  at  the  black  clouds  rising  from  behind  the 
coast,  he  doubted  that  the  Dictator  could  do  it  in 


510  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

time.  An  appalling  fortune  seemed  to  be  de- 
scending on  the  men  on  the  ice. 

"  But  we  may  make  it,  mate,"  said  the  captain, 
"  if " 

"Ay,  sir?" 

"  If  they's  no  ice  comin'  with  the  gale." 

The  ship  had  been  riding  the  open  sea,  skirt- 
ing the  floe.  Now  she  came  to  the  mouth  of  a 
broad  lane,  which  wound  through  the  fields.  It 
was  the  course ;  along  that  lane,  at  all  hazards, 
she  must  thread  her  way.  The  danger  was  ex- 
treme. The  wind,  blowing  a  gale,  might  force 
the  great  fields  together.  Or,  if  ice  came  with 
the  wind,  the  lanes  might  be  choked  up.  In 
either  event,  what  chance  would  there  be  for  the 
men?  In  the  first  event,  which  was  almost  in- 
evitable, what  chance  would  there  be  for  the  Dic- 
tator herself  ? 

"  Cap'n  Hand,  sir,"  the  mate  began,  nervously, 
"is  you  goin' " 

The  captain  looked  up  in  amazement  when  the 
mate  stammered  and  stopped.  "  Well,  sir  ?  "  he 
said. 

"  Is  you  goin'  inside  the  ice,  sir  ?  " 

"  Is  I  goin'  WHAT  ?  "  roared  the  captain,  turn- 
ing upon  him.  "  Is  I  goin'  WHAT,  sir  ?  " 


THE  DICTATOR  IS  NIPPED        311 

It  was  sufficient.  The  captain  was  going 
among  the  fields.  The  mate  needed  no  plainer 
answer  to  his  question. 

"  Beg  pardon,  sir,"  he  muttered  meekly.  "  I 
thought  you  was." 

"  Huh  ! "  growled  the  captain. 

When  the  ship  passed  into  the  lane,  the  storm 
burst  overhead.  The  scunner  in  the  foretop  was 
near  blinded  by  the  driven  snow.  His  voice  was 
swept  hither  and  thither  by  the  wind.  Directions 
came  to  the  bridge  in  broken  sentences.  The 
captain  dared  not  longer  drive  the  vessel  at  full 
speed. 

"  Half  speed  ! "  he  signalled. 

The  ship  crept  along.  For  half  an  hour,  while 
the  night  drew  on,  not  a  word  was  spoken,  save 
the  captain's  quiet  "Port!"  and  " Starboard  !" 
into  the  wheelhouse  tube.  Then  the  mate  heard 
the  old  man  mutter  : 

"  Poor  b'y !     Poor  Sir  Archibald  ! " 

No  other  reference  was  made  to  the  boy.  In 
the  captain's  mind,  thereafter,  for  all  the  mate 
knew,  young  Archibald  Armstrong,  the  owner's 
son,  was  merely  one  of  a  crew  of  sixty  men,  lost 
on  the  floe. 

"  Ice  ahead ! "  screamed  the  lookout  in  the  bow0 


312  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

The  ship  was  brought  to  a  stop.  The  lane  she 
had  been  following  had  closed  before  her.  The 
mate  went  forward. 

"  Heavy  ice,  sir,"  he  reported. 

Broken  ice,  then,  had  come  down  with  the  wind. 
It  had  been  carried  into  the  channels,  choking 
them. 

"  Does  you  see  water  beyond,  b'y  ?  "  the  cap- 
tain shouted. 

"  'Tis  too  thick  t'  tell,  sir." 

The  captain  signalled  "  Go  ahead ! "  The 
chance  must  be  taken.  To  be  caught  between 
two  fields  in  a  great  storm  was  a  fearful  situation. 
So  the  ship  pushed  into  the  ice,  moving  at  a 
snail's  pace,  labouring  hard,  and  complaining  of 
the  pressure  upon  her  ribs.  Soon  she  made  no 
progress  whatever.  The  screw  was  turning 
noisily ;  the  vessel  throbbed  with  the  labour  of  the 
engines ;  but  she  was  at  a  standstill. 

"  Stuck,  sir ! "  exclaimed  the  mate. 

"Ay,  mate,"  the  captain  said,  blankly, 
"stuck." 

The  ship  struggled  bravely  to  force  her  way 
on;  but  the  ice,  wedged  all  about  her,  was  too 
heavy. 

"  God  help  the  men  ! "  said  the  captain,  as  he 


THE  DICTATOR  IS  NIPPED        313 

signalled  for  the  stopping  of  the  engines.  "  We're 
stuck ! " 

"An'  God  help  us,"  the  mate  added,  in  the 
same  spirit,  "  if  the  fields  come  together  !  " 

Conceive  the  situation  of  the  Dictator.  She 
lay  between  two  of  many  vast,  shifting  fields, 
all  of  immeasurable  mass.  The  captain  had  de- 
liberately subjected  her  to  the  chances  in  an 
effort  to  rescue  the  men  for  whom  he  was  ac- 
countable to  the  women  and  children  of  Green 
Bay.  She  was  caught ;  and  if  the  wind  should 
Hive  the  fields  together,  her  case  would  be  des- 
perate, Jndeed.  The  slow,  mighty  pressure  ex- 
erted by  such  masses  is  irresistible.  The  ship 
would  either  be  crushed  to  splinters,  or — a 
slender  chance — she  would  be  lifted  out  of 
danger  for  the  time. 

Had  there  been  no  broken  ice  about  her,  de- 
struction would  have  been  inevitable.  Her  hope 
now  lay  in  that  ice ;  for,  with  the  narrowing  of 
the  space  in  which  it  floated,  it  would  in  part  be 
forced  deep  into  the  water,  and  in  part  be 
crowded  out  of  it.  If  it  should  get  under  the 
ship's  bottom,  it  would  exert  an  increasing  up- 
ward pressure  ;  and  that  pressure  might  be  strong 
enough  to  lift  the  vessel  clear  of  the  fields.  The 


3H  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

captain  had  known  of  such  cases ;  but  now  he 
smiled  when  he  called  them  to  mind. 

"Take  a  week's  rations  an*  four  boats  t'  the 
ice,  mate/'  he  directed,  "an*  be  quick  about  it. 
We'll  sure  have  t'  leave  the  ship." 

While  the  mate  went  about  this  work,  the 
captain  paced  the  bridge,  regardless  of  the  cold 
and  storm.  It  was  dark,  the  wind  was  bitter  and 
strong,  the  snow  was  driving  past ;  but  still  he 
paced  the  bridge,  now  and  then  turning  towards 
the  darkness  of  that  place,  far  off  on  the  floe, 
where  his  men,  and  the  young  charge  he  had 
been  given,  were  lost.  The  women  of  Green  Bay 
would  not  forgive  him  for  lives  lost  thus ;  of  that 
he  was  sure.  And  the  lad — that  tender  lad 

"Poor  little  b'y ! "  he  thought.  "Poor  Sir 
Archibald!" 

For  relief  from  this  torturing  thought,  he  went 
among  the  men.  He  found  most  of  them 
gathered  in  groups,  gravely  discussing  the  situa- 
tion of  the  ship.  In  the  forecastle,  some  were 
holding  a  "  prayer-meeting"  ;  the  skipper  paused 
to  listen  to  the  singing  and  to  the  solemn  words 
that  followed  it.  Here  and  there,  as  he  went 
along,  he  spoke  an  encouraging  word  ;  here  and 
there  dropped  a  word  of  advice,  as,  "  Timothy, 


THE  DICTATOR  IS  NIPPED        315 

b'y,  you  got  too  much  on  your  back;  'tis  not 
wise  t'  load  yourself  down  when  you  takes  t'  the 
ice,"  and  the  like  ;  here  and  there,  in  a  smile  or 
a  glance,  he  found  the  comforting  assurance 
that  the  men  knew  he  had  tried  to  do  his 
duty. 

"  Cap'n  John  Hand,"  he  thought,  when  he  re- 
turned to  the  bridge,  "  you  hasn't  got  a  coward 
aboard ! " 

The  mate  came  up  to  report.  "We've  the 
boats  on  the  ice,  sir,"  he  said,  <(  an'  I've  warned 
the  crew  t'  make  ready." 

"  Very  well,  Mr.  Ackell ;  they's  nothin'  more  t' 
be  done0" 

"  Hark,  sir!" 

The  ice  about  the  ship  seemed  to  be  stir- 
ring. Beyond — from  far  off  in  the  distance 
to  windward — the  noise  of  grinding,  breaking 
ice-pans  could  be  heard.  There  was  no  mistak- 
ing the  warning.  The  moment  of  peril  was  at 
hand. 

"  The  fields  is  comin'  together,  sir." 

"  Call  the  crew,  Mr.  Ackell,"  said  the  captain, 
quietly. 

The  men  gathered  on  deck.  They  were  silent 
while  they  waited.  The  only  sounds  came  from 


3i6  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

the  ice — and  from  overhead,  where  the  wind  was 
screaming  through  the  rigging. 

"  'Tis  comin',  sir,"  said  the  mate. 

"Ay." 

"  God  help  us !  " 

"  'Twill  soon  be  over,  Mr.  Ackell,"  observed 
the  captain. 

He  awaited  the  event  with  a  calm  spirit. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

And  Last:  In  Which  Wind  and  Snow  and  Cold 
Have  Their  Way  and  Death  Lands  on  the 
Floe.  Billy  Topsail  Gives  Himself  to  a  Gust 
of  Wind,  and  Archie  Armstrong  Finds  Peril 
and  Hardship  Stern  Teachers.  Concerning, 
also,  a  New  Sloop,  a  For e-ari -After  and  a 
Tailors  Lay-Figure 

BILL  o'  Burnt  Bay  did  not  lead  a  race  for 
the  landing  place      When  he  looked  up,  a 
thick  curtain   of  snow  hid  the  flags.     It 
was  then  apparent  to  him  that  he  and  his  meu 
must  pass  the  night  on  the  ice.     In  a  blizzard 
of  such  force    and    blinding  density,   no   help 
could  reach  them   from   the   ship,  even  if  she 
managed  to  reach  the  place  where  the  men  were 
to  be  taken  aboard. 

Nothing  was  visible  but  the  space  immediately 
roundabout ;  and  the  wind  had  risen  to  such  ter- 
rific strength  that  sound  could  make  small  way 
against  it.  Thus,  neither  lights  nor  signal  guns 
could  be  perceived — =not  though  the  ship  should 
beat  her  way  to  within  one  hundred  yards  of 
where  the  group  stood  huddled.  There  was 
nothing  for  it  but  to  seek  the  shelter  of  an  ice 


3i8  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

hummock,  and  there  await  the  passing  of  the 
storm. 

"  B'ys,"  he  said  to  the  few  men  who  had  gath- 
ered about  him,  and  he  shouted  at  the  top  of  his 
voice,  for  the  wind  whisked  low-spoken  words 
away,  "they's  a  hummock  somewheres  handy 
Leave  us  get  t*  the  lee  of  it." 

"  No,  no ! "  several  men  exclaimed.  "  Leave 
us  get  on  t'  the  rest  o'  the  crew.  'Tis  no  use  stay  in' 
here." 

"The  path  is  lost,  men,"  Bill  cried.  " You'll 
lose  your  way — you'll  lose  your  lives ! " 

But  they  would  not  listen.  They  hurried  for- 
ward, and  were  soon  swallowed  up  by  the  night 
and  snow.  Bill  o'  Burnt  Bay  was  left  alone  with 
Billy  and  Archie  and  a  man  named  Osmond, 
who  was  a  dull,  heavy  fellow. 

"  They's  a  hummock  within  a  hundred  yards 
o'  here,"  Bill  shouted.  "  I  marked  it  afore  the 
snow  got  thick.  We  must  find  it  'Tis " 

"  'Tis  t'  the  left ;  'tis  over  there,"  said  Billy, 
pointing  to  the  left  "  I  marked  it  well." 

"Ay  'tis  somewheres  t'  the  left  Our  only 
chance  is  t'  find  it.  Now,  listen  well  t'  what  I 
says.  We  must  spread  out.  I'll  start  off.  Archie, 
you  follow  me ;  keep  sight  o'  me — keep  just  sight 


IN  PERIL  319 

o'  me,  an*  no  more ;  but  don't  lose  me,  b'y,  for 
your  life.  Osmond,  you'll  follow  the  b'y ;  an'  be 
sure  you  watch  him  well.  Billy,  b'y,  you'll  fol- 
low Osmond.  When  we  gets  in  line,  we'll  face 
t'  the  left  an'  go  for'ard.  The  first  t'  see  the 
hummock  will  signal  the  next  man,  an*  he'll  pass 
the  word." 

The  three  nodded  their  heads  to  signify  their 
understanding  of  these  directions. 

"  Osmond,  don't  lose  sight  o'  this  b'y,"  said 
Bill,  impressively,  placing  his  hand  on  Archie's 
shoulder.  "  D'you  mind  ?  Men,"  he  went  on, 
"  if  one  loses  sight  o'  the  others,  'tis  all  up  with 
us.  Leave  your  pelt  go.  I'll  take  mine." 

Shelter  from  that  frosty  wind  was  imperative 
in  Archie's  case.  He  made  no  complaint,  for  it 
was  not  in  his  nature  to  complain  ;  but,  strong  to 
endure  as  he  was,  and  stout  as  his  spirit  was,  the 
cold,  striking  through  the  fur  and  wool  about 
him,  was  having  its  inevitable  effect. 

When  Bill  moved  off,  dragging  his  burden  of 
pelt,  the  boy  calmly  waited  until  the  stalwart 
figure  had  been  reduced  to  an  outline ;  then, 
with  heavy  steps,  but  fixed  purpose  to  acquit 
himself  like  a  man,  he  followed,  keeping  his 
distance ,  Osmond  came  next  Young  Billy  had 


320  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

the  exposed  position — a  station  of  honour  in 
which  he  exulted — at  the  other  end  of  the  line. 

Bill  gave  the  signal,  which  was  passed  along 
by  Archie  to  Osmond  and  by  him  to  Billy,  and 
they  faced  about  and  moved  forward  in  the  direc- 
tion in  which  the  hummock  lay. 

Archie  searched  the  gloom  for  the  gray  shape 
of  the  hummock.  It  was  a  shelter — a  mere  re- 
lief. But  how  despairingly  he  searched  for  a 
sight  of  that  formless  heap  of  ice  1  Soon  he  be- 
gan to  stumble  painfully.  Once  he  lost  sight  of 
Bill  o'  Burnt  Bay.  Then  he  faltered,  fell  and 
could  not  rise.  It  was  the  watchful  Bill  who 
picked  him  up. 

"What's  this,  b'y?"  Bill  asked,  his  voice 
shaking. 

"  I  fell  down,"  Archie  answered,  sharply 
"That's  all." 

"  I'll  carry  you,  b'y,"  Bill  began.     "I'll  carry 

yOU,    if " 

Archie  roughly  pushed  the  man  away.  Then 
he  stumbled  forward,  keeping  his  head  up. 

At  that  moment,  Osmond,  who  was  like  a 
shadow  to  the  right,  gave  the  signal.  So  Bill 
knew  that  Billy,  whom  he  could  not  see,  had 
chanced  upon  the  hummock.  He  caught  Archie 


IN  PERIL  321 

up  in  his  arms,  against  the  boy's  protests  and 
struggles,  and  ran  with  him  to  Osmond,  and 
thence  to  Billy,  all  the  time  dragging  his  "  tow." 

When  they  reached  the  lee  of  the  ice,  Archie 
lay  quietly  in  Bill's  arms.  He  was  about  to  fall 
asleep,  as  Bill  perceived. 

"Unlash  the  tow,"  Bill  said,  quickly,  to  Os- 
mond, "  an'  start  a  fire." 

With  the  help  of  Billy,  Osmond  took  a  pelt 
from  the  pack,  and  spread  it  on  the  ice. 

"  They's  no  wood,"  he  said,  stupidly 

"Take  the  cross-bar  o'  the  tow  line,  dunder- 
head 1 "  cried  Billy.  "  Here  !  Leave  me  do  it." 

While  Billy  released  the  slender  bar  of  wood 
from  the  end  of  the  line,  stuck  it  in  the  blubber 
and  prepared  to  set  fire  to  it,  Bill  was  dealing 
with  Archie's  drowsiness  He  shook  the  lad 
with  all  his  strength,  slapped  him,  shook  him 
again,  ran  him  hither  and  thither,  and,  at  last, 
roused  him  to  a  sense  of  peril.  The  boy  fought 
desperately  to  restore  his  circulation. 

"  'Tis  ready  t'  light,"  Billy  said  to  Bill. 

"  Leave  me  do  it,"  Bill  answered.  "  Keep 
movin',  b'y,"  he  cautioned  Archie.  "  Don't  you 
give  up." 

Give  up?    Not   hel     And  Archie  said  so— 


322  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

mumbled  it  scornfully  to  Bill,  and  repeated  it 
again  and  again  to  himself,  until  he  was  sick  oi 
the  monotony  of  the  words,  but  could  not  stop 
repeating  them. 

Neither  Osmond  nor  Billy  had  matches,  but 
Bill  had  a  box  in  his  waistcoat  pocket.  He 
shielded  the  contents  from  the  wind  and  snow 
while  he  took  one  match  out.  Then  he  closed 
the  box  and  handed  it  to  Osmond  to  hold.  It 
was  well  that  he  did  not  return  it  to  his  own 
pocket. 

Archie  was  stumbling  back  and  forth  over  the 
twenty  yards  of  sheltered  space.  He  had  a 
great,  shadowy  realization  of  two  duties :  he 
must  keep  in  motion,  and  he  must  keep  out  of 
the  wind.  All  else  had  passed  from  his  con- 
sciousness. At  every  turn,  however,  he  un- 
wittingly ventured  further  past  the  end  of  the 
hummock. 

Twice  the  wind,  the  full  force  of  which  he 
could  not  resist,  almost  caught  him.  Then  came 
a  time  when  he  had  to  summon  his  whole 
strength  to  tear  himself  from  its  clutch.  He  told 
himself  he  must  not  again  pass  beyond  the  lee 
of  the  ice.  But,  before  he  returned  to  that  point* 
fce  had  forgotten  the  danger. 


IN  PERIL  323 

A  mighty  gust  laid  hold  on  him,  carried  him 
off  his  feet,  and  swept  him  far  out  into  the  dark- 
ness.1 It  chanced  that  Billy  Topsail,  who  had 
kept  an  eye  on  Archie,  caught  sight  of  him  as 
he  fell. 

"  Archie  I  "  the  boy  screamed. 

"Archie?"  cried  Bill,  lookingup.   "What " 

Archie  had  even  then  been  carried  out  of  sight. 
Billy  leaped  to  his  feet  and  followed.  He  gave 
himself  to  the  same  gust  of  wind,  and,  with 
difficulty  keeping  himself  upright,  was  carried 
along  with  it.  Bill  grasped  the  situation  in  a 
flash.  He,  too,  leaped  up,  and  ran  into  the 
storm. 

"Archie,  b'y!"  he  cried.  "Where  is  you? 
Oh,  where  is  you,  lad  ?  "  It  was  the  first  time  in 
many  years  that  heart's  agony  had  wrung  a  cry 
from  old  Bill  o'  Burnt  Bay. 

Billy  Topsail  was  carried  swiftly  along  by  the 
wind.  It  was  clear  to  him  that,  should  he  di- 
verge from  the  path  of  the  gust,  not  only  would 
he  be  unable  to  find  the  lost  boy,  but  he  himself 


1  It  is  related  by  the  survivors  of  the  steamship  Greenland  disaster, 
of  some  years  ago,  in  which  sixty  lives  were  lost,  that  one  man  was 
in  this  way  carried  half  a  mile  over  the  ice.  When  he  was  found, 
he  had  gone  mad. 


324  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

would  be  in  hopeless  case.  The  wind  swept  him 
close  upon  Archie's  track,  tr  .,  as  its  force  wasted, 
ever  more  slowly.  He  soon  tripped  over  an  ob- 
struction, and  plunged  forward  on  his  face.  He 
recovered,  and  crawled  back.  There  he  came 
upon  Archie,  lying  in  a  heap,  half  covered  by  a 
drift  of  snow. 

"B'y,"  Billy  shouted,  "is  you  dead?" 

Archie  opened  his  eyes.  Billy  Topsail  looked 
close,  but  could  see  no  light  of  intelligence  in 
them.  He  shook  the  boy  violently. 

"Wake  up!"  he  cried.     "  Wake  up  I" 

"  What  ?  "  Archie  responded,  faintly. 

Billy  lifted  him  to  his  feet,  but  there  was  no 
strength  in  the  lad's  legs;  he  was  limp  as  a 
drunken  man.  But  this  exertion  restored  Billy 
Topsail ;  he  felt  his  own  strength  returning — a 
strength  which  the  arduous  toil  of  the  coast  had 
mightily  developed. 

"  Stand  up,  b'y  ! "  he  shouted  in  Archie's  ear. 
"  Put  your  arm  on  my  shoulder.  I'll  help  you 
along." 

"  No,"  Archie  muttered.  But  despite  this  pro- 
test he  was  lifted  up ;  then  he  said  :  "  Give  me 
your  hand.  Pm  all  right." 

Billy  wasted  no  words.     He  locked  his  arms 


IN  PERIL  325 

about  Archie's  middle,  lifted  him,  and  staggered 
forward  against  tht  wind. 

The  wind  had  fallen  somewhat,  and  he  made 
some  progress.  But  the  burden  was  heavy,  and 
twice  he  fell.  Then  he  heard  Bill  o'  Burnt  Bay's 
voice,  and  he  shouted  a  response,  but  the  wind 
carried  the  words  away.  He  could  hear  Bill, 
who  was  to  windward,  but  Bill  could  not  hear 
him.  So  when  the  call  came  again,  he  marked 
the  location  and  staggered  in  that  direction. 

"  Oh,  Billy !     Oh,  Archie ! " 

The  voice  was  nearer — and  to  the  left.  Billy 
Topsail  changed  his  course.  The  next  cry  came 
from  the  right  again.  Was  the  wind  deceiving 
him  ?  Or  was  Bill  changing  his  place  ?  Then 
came  a  ringing  cry  near  at  hand. 

"  Bill ! "  screamed  Billy  Topsail. 

"  Here  1    Where  is  you  ?  " 

Bill's  great  body  emerged  from  the  darkness. 
He  cried  out  joyfully  as  he  rushed  forward,  took 
Archie  from  Billy's  arms,  and  slung  him  over  his 
shoulder. 

"  Praise  God ! "  he  muttered  tremulously,  when 
he  felt  life  stirring  in  the  small  body. 

He  put  his  face  close  to  Billy  Topsail's  and 
looked  steadily  into  the  boy's  eyes  for  an  instant ; 


326  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

and  no  words  were  needed  to  say  what  he 
meant 

But  where  was  the  hummock?  Bill  looked 
about. 

"  'Tis  there,"  said  Billy,  pointing  ahead. 

Bill  shook  his  head.  His  homing  instinct,  to 
which  he  had  trusted  his  life  in  many  a  fog  and 
night,  told  him  otherwise.  Reason  entered  into 
his  decision  not  at  all ;  he  merely  waited  until  he 
was  persuaded  that  his  face  was  turned  in  the 
right  direction.  Then  he  started  off  unhesitat- 
ingly. He  had  found  the  harbour  entrance  thus 
in  many  a  thick  summer  night  when  his  fishing 
punt  rode  a  trackless  sea. 

"  Take  hold  o'  me  jacket,  b'y,"  he  said  to  Billy. 
1  Mind  you  stick  close  by  me." 

For  some  time  they  wandered  without  seeing 
any  sign  of  the  hummock.  Bill's  heart  sank  lower 
and  lower ;  for  he  knew  that  if  they  did  not  soon 
find  shelter,  Archie  would  die  in  his  arms.  At  last 
Bill  caught  sight  of  a  light — a  dull,  glowing  light. 

"  Is  that  a  fire  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Tis  the  hummock ! "  Billy  cried.  "  Tis  Os- 
mond with  the  fire  goin'.  Tis  he!  Tis  he  ! " 

"  We're  saved,"  said  Bill. 

Once  in  the  lee  of  the  hummock,  they  roused 


"WE'RE  SAVED!"  SAID  BILL. 


IN  PERIL  327 

Archie  from  his  stupor,  and  warmed  him  over  the 
fire,  which  Osmond,  after  many  failures,  had  suc- 
ceeded in  lighting.  They  broke  the  cross-piece 
of  the  tow  line  in  two,  took  another  pelt  from  the 
pack,  and  made  two  fires.  The  wood  was  like 
the  wick  in  a  candle ;  it  blazed  in  the  blubber, 
and  was  not  consumed.  Between  the  fires  they 
huddled  together,  with  Archie  in  the  middle. 
Their  bodies  warmed  the  lad,  and  he  slumbered 
snugly,  quietly,  through  the  night.  Billy  Top- 
sail, more  sturdy  of  body,  if  not  of  spirit,  kept 
awake,  and  had  a  part  in  the  talk  with  which 
each  tried  to  cheer  the  others  through  the  fearful, 
dragging  hours. 

"  Tis  the  day,"  said  Bill,  at  last,  pointing  to  the 
east. 

The  wind  abated  as  the  dawn  advanced,  and 
the  snow  ceased  to  fall.  Light  crept  over  the 
field,  and  men  appeared  from  behind  dumpers  of 
ice.  Group  signalled  to  group.  All  made  their 
way  to  the  place  where  the  ship  had  landed  them, 
a  dozen  men  were  already  clustered — a  gaunt, 
haggard,  frost-bitten  crowd.  The  terrors  of  the 
night  still  oppressed  them,  and,  through  weeks, 
would  haunt  their  dreams. 

They  counted  their  number.    Fifty-nine  living 


328  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

men  were  there  ;  and  there  was  one  dead  body — 
that  of  Tim  Tuttle  of  Raggles  Island,  who  had 
strayed  away  from  his  fellows  and  been  lost. 
And  thus  they  awaited  the  full  break  of  day,  while 
eyes  were  strained  into  the  departing  night. 
Where  was  the  ship?  Had  she  survived? 
Thesea  were  the  questions  they  asked  one  an- 
other. 

"  What's  that  patch  o'  black?  "  Bill  o'  Burnt 
Bay  asked.  "Due  west,  lads — a  mile  or  more 
off?" 

"  Sure,  it  looks  like  the  ship,"  some  of  the  men 
agreed. 

As  the  light  increased,  the  storm  passed  on. 
A  burst  of  sunshine  at  last  revealed  the  Dictator, 
lying  on  the  ice,  listed  far  to  port.  The  broken  ice 
in  which  she  had  been  caught,  they  learned  after- 
wards, had  been  forced  under  her,  and  she  had 
been  lifted  out  of  danger  when  the  fields  that 
nipped  her  came  together. 

When  it  is  said  that  old  Captain  Hand  wel- 
comed his  crew  with  open  arms,  and  embraced 
Archie — the  meanwhile  searching  through  all 
his  pockets  for  a  handkerckief,  which  he  could 
not  find — there  remains  little  to  be  told.  He 
was  more  haggard  than  the  rescued  men.  What 


IN  PERIL  32$ 

depths  his  brave  spirit  sounded  on  that  long 
night  are  not  to  be  described. 

"Well,  b'y,"  was  what  he  said  to  Archie, 
"  you're  back,  is  you  ?  " 

"  Safe  and  sound,  cap'n,"  the  boy  replied, 
wearily,  "  and  hungry." 

"Send  the  cook  for'ard  with  the  scoff!" 
roared  the  captain. 

Before  noon,  all  the  men  were  safe  aboard, 
and  the  ice  was  breaking  up.  When  the 
Dictator  settled  softly  into  the  water,  at  the 
parting  of  the  fields,  the  pelt  was  stowed  away. 
She  had  no  difficulty  in  making  the  open  sea ; 
and  thence  she  set  forth  in  search  of  other  floes 
and  other  seal  packs. 

The  Dictator  made  Long  Tom  Harbour  without 
mishap.  There  it  was  made  known  that  the  name 
of  Billy  Topsail  of  Ruddy  Cove  was  "on  the 
books,"  and  not  a  man  grumbled  because  the 
lad  was  to  share  with  the  rest.  There,  too,  old 
John  Roth,  to  whom  two  "white  coats"  had 
been  promised,  claimed  the  gift  of  Archie,  and 
was  not  disappointed.  And  there  Archie  said 
good-bye  to  Billy  for  the  time. 

"I'll  see  you  this  summer,"  he  said.     "Don't 


330  The  ADVENTURES  of  BILLY  TOPSAIL 

forget,  Billy.  I'll  spend  a  week  of  vacation  time 
with  you  at  Ruddy  Cove." 

"  No,"  Billy  replied.  "  You'll  spend  it  at  New 
Bay.  Sure,  me  name  is  on  the  books,  an'  I'm 
goin'  after  lobsters  with  me  own  skiff  in  July." 

"I'll  go  with  you,  if  you'll  take  me,"  said 
Archie.  "And  I  can  never,  never  forget  that 
you " 

"Sure,"  Billy  Topsail  interrupted,  flushing, 
"  you'll  go  with  me  t'  New  Bay.  An'  times  we'll 
have  of  it ! " 

"Good-bye!" 

"Good-bye,  b'y!" 

And  so  they  parted  on  terms  of  perfect 
equality. 

That  summer,  Billy  Topsail  went  to  New  Bay 
But  it  was  not  in  a  skiff ;  it  was  in  a  swift  littlt 
sloop,  especially  made  to  be  sailed  by  a  crew 
of  one.  It  came  North,  mysteriously,  from 
St.  John's,  to  the  wonder  of  all  Green  Bay ;  and 
its  name  was  Rescue.  And  a  letter  came  North 
for  Bill  o'  Burnt  Bay :  which,  when  he  read  it, 
stirred  him  to  the  profoundest  depth  of  his 
rugged  old  heart,  for  he  roared  in  a  most  un- 
mannerly fashion  that  he'd  "be  busted  if  he'd 


IN  PERIL  331 

take  a  thing  for  standin'  by  such  a  ladl"  In 
reply  to  a  second  letter,  however,  Bill  said  he 
would  "  be  willin'  t'  take  it  on  credit,  if  he'd  be 
'lowed  t'  pay  for  it  as  he  could."  So  that  is  how 
Bill  o'  Burnt  Bay  came  to  sail  to  the  Labrador 
in  his  own  fore-and-after,  when  the  fish  were 
running. 

And,  once,  Sir  Archibald  Armstrong  turned 
to  his  son.  "Well,  my  boy,"  he  said,  slowly, 
"I've  been  wanting  to  ask  you  a  question. 
What  do  you  think  of  your  shipmates  ?  " 

"  I  think  they're  heroes,  every  one ! "  Archie 
answered. 

"  Do  you  think  you  now  know  the  difference 
between  a  man  and  a  tailor's  lay-figure  ?  " 

"  Oh,  sir,"  Archie  laughed,  "  I'll  never  forget 
that!" 

Billy  Topsail  had  never  needed  to  learn. 


Note. — There  is  an  interesting  announcement 
concerning  Billy  Topsail  on  the  following  page. 

Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


A  WORD  TO  BOYS 

(and  girls  also)  who  have  enjoyed  chumming 
with  "Billy  Topsail.'* 
In  the  new  volume,  which  is  fittingly  called 

BILLY  TOPSAIL  AND  COMPANY, 

you  may  continue  the  acquaintance  of  Billy 
Topsail  and  his  friends  in  their  further  adven- 
tures on  the  coast  of  Labrador. 

Every  venturesome,  fun-loving  boy  will  find 
additional  delight  in  Norman  Duncan's  latest 
story.  Think  of  being  born  in  Buccaneer  Cove 
of  the  Labrador,  like  Jimmie  Grimm !  Jimmie's 
father  moves  down  to  Newfoundland  and  here 
Jimmie  falls  in  with  Billy  Topsail  and  the  other 
lads,  and  from  that  time  on  the  pages  are  full  of 
their  surprising  experiences,  all  told  with  a  snap 
and  go  as  bracing  as  the  sea  wind  and  the  salt 
spray  in  which  they  spend  most  of  their  time. 

You  can  rely  upon  its  being  a  cracker- jack 
story  when  exclamations  come  from  the  readers 
like  the  following : 

"A  ripping  good  story  for  the  wide-awake  boy!  The 
reader  who  loves  adventures  that  are  real  will  exclaim 
"bully"  and  read  it  again.  It  will  grip  and  enthuse  him 
and  will  teach  him  qualities  which  the  right  kind  of  boy  will 
admire.'*  — HENRY  HAYNIE  in  the  Boston  Times. 

"Thanks  to  the  straight,  clear  style  and  direct  humor  of 
the  author,  every  page  is  enjoyable." — Chicago  Inter-Ocean. 

"Billy  is  a  jolly,  fearless  lad  and  his  experiences  are  re- 
lated in  a  humorous  manner  that  is  most  delightful." 

— Des  Moines  Capital. 

"The  young  lads  in  it  are  the  very  best  sort  of  company 
boys  could  have.  Brave,  manly,  democratic  but  entirely 
and  boyishly  human." — New  York  Times. 


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